Case of the LookaLikes
by IamKnow1
Summary: This story starts at Captain Montgomery funeral and takes a drastic turn. There is nothing from the 4th season. Kate has a rough time after getting shot, a year later she sets out to improve her relationships with everyone most importantly Castle. As she tries she and the rest of the 12th must deal with a serial killer who's hitting too close to home.
1. Dashed Hopes

Dear anyone,

I would like to apologize in advance. This story is vastly different than "The Announcement." It takes a darker tone than the other one and reads differently too. I hope you like it. Coming soon is another story in the same arc as "The Announcement."

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Prologue – Captain's Funeral

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining in the bluest of blue skies, but everyone around was filled with sorrow. This day was the day of Captain Roy Montgomery's funeral. A man who had spent his whole life trying to make up for one mistake he had made so long ago. He tried to protect Kate from the men responsible for her mother's death and died doing so.

All the people in attendance were listening to Detective Kate Beckett deliver her speech but she was talking to only one person there. Richard Castle, her partner, her best friend and the man she loved.

As Castle stood there looking at Kate admiring her bravery and strength, something caught his eye. It glinted in the sunlight and made him look out over the gravestones. It was something that normally would not be there. He figured it out too late, as sound of the shot rang through the grounds. Castle tried to get to her. He tried…

She lay on the ground looking up at Richard. He begged her not to go; he told her that he loved her. That's what she needed to hold on to. He loves her. His love for her is what she held onto. It's what keeps her alive.

Everyone waited at the hospital for news. Dr. Josh Davidson walked down the hall with her blood on his scrubs, they all held their breath for an update but instead of giving them news, he attacked Castle. Josh blamed him for Kate being so near death. Alexis jumped to her father's defense, almost striking Josh, but someone grabbed her and pulled her back.

News did eventually come. She's alive! That's all the matters to Castle. She's alive! He does not care about Josh or anything else.

She is alive!

Chapter 1 – Dashed Hopes

Castle was leaving Kate's room when Lanie entered. "Hey writer-boy, how are you?" Lanie asked.

He gave her a quick, false smile, "I'm good but I have to run. See you later."

Lanie could see something was off about him but let it slide. "Okay, see you later." She turned to continue into Kate's room. "Hey girl, you doing any better today?" Lanie said to Kate even before she was entirely in the room.

Kate weakly replied, "Yeah I'm…" she straightened up in bed, "Still hurt but I'm getting better."

Lanie sat in the chair next to the bed near the window. "Good. I saw Castle, but he looked a little down. What's up with that? I assumed he'd be happy to see you alive and kicking." She was curious because seeing Castle down was as rare as a pink unicorn in Central Park.

"I asked if we could talk later. I told him I would call him." Kate shifted in her bed, the discomfort showing on her face.

Lanie instantly knew she was not getting the whole story from her friend. Most normal people would let it go but not Lanie, she needed to know the truth when it came to Kate and Castle.

"Spill it" Lanie demanded. It was less of a statement or question, it was a command and you followed General Lanie's orders.

Kate knew she had no choice in the matter, Lanie would find out on her own if she did not tell her. So taking a breath, she steeled herself and said "He told me that he loves me." Lanie face was one of joy for her friend. "Right after I got shot. When I was on the ground. He told me to hang on because he loves me and I did. I held on because of him, for him, for us. "

Lanie was overjoyed but stopped quickly when she saw Kate shifting her eyes back and forth. "That a good thing, right?"

"I told him that I don't remember anything about the afternoon. Not being shot or what he said" Kate confessed to her friend. She looked down at her hands to hide the guilt written all over her face.

Lanie was both confused and a little angry by what Kate admitted. "Why the hell did you tell him that? He loves you and you love him. That's obvious to anyone and everyone who's ever met the both of you."

Kate could see the anger on the good doctor's face. Lanie had always encouraged the idea of the two of them as a couple. She felt the need to defend her decision. "I know and I do love him but I told him that to protect him. I could still die from this or the people who did this could come after me again. I don't want to hurt him. It could be him next time or I could be killed and I can't do that to him. Be a couple and then die on him….it would be devastating. So I've decided that _after _my mom's case is solved, I will tell him the truth. Tell him that I love him too. Is that okay with you?" Kate asked the last part softly.

"No it's not, but I understand. You are trying to protect him." Lanie knew that admitting she loved him back was a big step for Miss Kate Beckett.

Castle stepped back from the door after hearing the full conversion between the two women. His heart raced with the idea of Kate and him, together. But he had to solve the case first and there was nothing in the world that would stop him from accomplishing that. She was worth the risk; the hope of them together was worth the ultimate risk.

As he walked down the hall, hands grabbed his shoulders, spun him around, and forced him against the wall. Now he was face to face with Dr. Josh Davidson for the second time in days.

"Rick, I'm only going to tell you this once. Stay away from her or I will gut you the same way you tried to gut me" Josh threatened.

Castle was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"It's your fault she is in here, that she got shot, that she had to fight for her life. She is mine. If you hurt her, you are damaging what's mine. I won't allow that" Josh hissed at him.

"She's not a possession, Josh. She is a human being" Castle saw a little crazy in Josh's eyes.

"Just stay away from her. Now leave before I call security" Josh said before releasing him and stalking away.

Castle straightened himself and passed the run-in with Josh off as stress of the day and situation. Castle headed directly to the 12th to get started on the case and to make his future with Kate.

It was two weeks later when Kate headed to her father's cabin. She headed out to her father's cabin to get some rest and recuperate.

Castle was just waiting patiently for her to call. He knew that she was having a tough time but he expected to hear from her at some point. He continued going to the 12th to work on the case and finally, he and the boys got their first break in the case. It wasn't a big break but it led to another clue and another break. Eventually it got them to what they needed.

Six weeks later, the person behind the whole thing was dead, choosing a self-inflicted bullet to the skull rather than jail. The only person left was the person who had shot Kate, Cole Maddax. The trio, Castle, Ryan, and Esposito, tracked him down to a high rise apartment building, just a few blocks away from Castle's loft.

They got Maddax but the cost was Ryan shot through his right shoulder, Castle's broke his left hand, and Esposito had snapped an ankle badly. To them it was worth the price, though. Kate was safe and Cole was dead. One shot to the face and three to the heart. The official reports said that Esposito shot him while he was on the ground after breaking his ankle because Cole was standing over him and going to shoot him.

A couple of hours had passed before each of them dragged their way back to the 12th after being released from the hospital. They were not fit to be there; nonetheless there they were, happy. Everyone except for Castle, he still had not heard from Kate. She did not even know that her mother's case was over, but Castle always had his brothers for this celebration. Brotherhood made stronger by the war they just went through together.

They were standing around the break room talking with the new captain, John Wall, when Lanie walked in, her face set in stone. She looked like she was resolving herself to tell them bad news.

"What's wrong?" Esposito asked noticing her mood was one of unhappiness and like she was trying not to cry.

Lanie couldn't speak, knowing that she was going to cause pain. She just held out her phone and played the voicemail on speakerphone.

"Hey Lanie, it's Kate. I'm fine and getting better each day, but that's not why I called. I got married last weekend. To Josh. Don't tell the guys, please. I will be back in a couple of months and I'll make the announcement then. See you soon, bye." Kate had sounded pleased but calm.

The room was silent as everyone just stared at each other.

Lanie broke the silence by saying, "I'm so sorry, Castle" as she looked at him and witnessed the soul-crushing pain that was evident on his face. Every part of him was in pain. It was like his soul was being crushed as the words replayed over and over in his head. Castle set his coffee down and walked away from the room, the bullpen, and the 12th precinct. He wasn't entirely aware of what he was doing. He just needed to get away, away from the memories and reminders of her.

"Am I missing something?" Captain Wall asked Ryan.

Ryan glanced up from his cup where he had been trying to comprehend the wrongness of that message. "He's in love with her, has been almost since day one of knowing her..." Ryan did not get to finish his thought as Lanie cut in.

"She's in love with him too. She was even before they met." She now turned to Esposito and became aware that he was fuming. "What's wrong baby?"

"After everything he has done for her. He ki…" he trails off before finishing the sentence as he realized everyone was listening to him. "Then she doesn't call him for two months and marries that jackhole!" Esposito gritted through his teeth. He shook his head in frustration, "I just don't understand how she could do that to him. She could have talked to him. He's been waiting for her to call like she said she would." He sighed in defeat and hobbled back to his desk on his crutches. He grabbed his coat before yelling back to the captain, "I am going to take the rest of the day and find him."

"I'm coming with you" Ryan shouts to Esposito. They couldn't let go alone.

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Please review. The story is actually done, but I would like to hear what is wrong with it so I can avoid the same mistakes in the future.


	2. The Fall

Sorry for the short, hope you enjoy anyways.

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Chapter 2 – The Fall

Two months had passed since Kate's call to Lanie and she was ready to make her return to the 12th precinct. She took a deep breath before getting off the elevator and walking into the bullpen. Nothing had changed. At least from first appearances they didn't seem to have changed at all.

Kate spotted Esposito first and smiled but he did not return her smile. Instead he nodded an acknowledgement to her presence, then turned and limped away. She cocked her head sideways at the cold treatment from her 'brother.' He had always been there for her and now he walked away without as much as a hello.

"Hey," came behind her. It startled her causing her to jump a little. She turned to see a sad looking Ryan standing there, his arm still in a sling.

Kate tucked her hair behind her ear and took that second to look at the sight before her. Besides the sling, he seemed to have an unhappy air about him. "What happen to you? And why is Javi limping?" she asked, concerned for her two partners.

All he replied was, "Got shot, broke an ankle." He shrugged before moving on. "It's good to see you. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine but come on, what happened to you two?" she asked, really disturbed now that Ryan didn't want to tell her.

"The three of us…" he started to tell her before turning to walk back to his desk. "You should have called" he said quietly, his tone accusing, staring at the ground. "By the way, congratulations." Even though he said the words Kate could tell that he was not happy with her news.

Before she could ask anymore the Captain stuck his head out of his office and asked "Detective Beckett, could you step in here for a moment, please?"

"Yes, sir" Kate said automatically and started walking toward the office. She was surprised at the size of the man sitting behind what seemed like child's desk, even though it was the same desk she had seen Captain Montgomery sitting behind.

He stood and extended his hand to shake hers. "Hello Detective, I am John Wall. How are you doing?" he asked sitting back down.

"I'm fine Captain. It's nice to meet you" Kate said not really knowing what else to say.

"Nice to meet you, too. Are you sure you're okay, because I know what it's like to get shot. I myself was shot 7 times" he asked, his concern was evident on his face.

"Yes sir. I'm okay. I would just like to know what the progress on my case is, sir."

"You don't know, huh? The status of the case is closed, has been for a while now. You really should talk to Detective Esposito, he will fill you in." He looked back down to his paper work before saying, "And Detective it's good to have you here."

Kate was shocked at hearing her case was closed but she smiled at him and said, "Thank you, sir."

"Oh, don't call me sir. It's Captain, Cap, or John, please. I'll even let you call me Mr. Wall." he said not looking back at her.

"Sure thing, Captain." Kate walked out of the office looking for Esposito. She found him in the break room. Esposito just rolled his eyes when he noticed her coming toward him.

"Esposito, what's going on with my shooting case?" she asked ignoring the fact that he was trying leave a room every time she entered it.

"Have you talked to Castle in the last four months?" he asked turning around to face her. His anger towards her was very apparent.

She was caught off guard by the question; once again she tucked her hair behind her ear trying to get that much needed extra second. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked deflecting the original question.

Esposito shook his head and said "You have to talk to him about your case," he said before he left the room.

"What is his problem?" Kate asked herself but was once again was surprised by Ryan answering behind her.

"He's mad," Ryan said stepping up to the coffee pot and pouring a cup, "at you."

"Why?" was all she could think to ask.

"Go see Castle and I think you'll understand."

It was obvious that she had to go see Castle. Checking his website she found him at a book signing. He looked happy from a distance but she could tell it was his fake happiness up close. She also noticed that his left arm was in a cast up to his elbow. She decided against walking up on him. She grabbed a copy of his newest book and waited in line with everyone else.

As he sat there signing copies of the book with a fake smile and talking to his fans, he made sure that they did not see the pain and hurt his was in. Most of the time, he kept his head down with the pretense of signing books. "Who can I make this out to?" he said not looking up.

"Kate, you can make it out to Kate" she said somewhat smiling. She was nervous from not having been around him in months.

He moved his eyes up slowly. He stowed his emotions, quickly signed the book and looked behind her and said "Next."

His reaction hurt her, but instead of arguing with him in front of his fans, she decided to wait for him outside.

Two hours later, he emerged from the store and saw her standing there waiting for him. "What do you want Beckett or is it Davidson now?" he spat.

"It's still Beckett. I mean, professionally it is. Castle, will you talk to me? Will you tell me why your arm is in a cast or what happened to the boys or what's happening with my case?" she asked. "They all said I have to talk to you and they are really standoffish and Javi's slightly rude."

"Maybe you should have called to let everyone know that you were alive. Do you know that I watched you die in that ambulance? Do you know how hard it is to watch the life slip away from someone that you love?" he demanded, letting the anger and pain color his voice.

She stared at him. He just told her that he loves her again. She didn't know how to respond.

He continued in a matter of fact tone of voice. "Your shooting case and your mother's case are over but it cost us. My arm, Ryan's shoulder, and Espo's ankle all have to do with your case. The ringleader is dead at his own hand and the man who shot you… Esposito killed him. Case closed" he said then he twisted around to walk away, figuring that was enough information for her.

She grabbed his good arm and spun him back around to face her. "Castle? What do you mean it's over?"

"It's over, you're safe. The man, who had your mother killed and you shot, is dead. The shooter is dead." With that he turned again and walked away. She was stunned by his treatment, it was cold and dark, and not the Castle she remembered or loved.

A few minutes later she remembered that she was still holding his book in her hands. She opened it to see what he wrote. Once she read the line a few times, tears flowed down her cheeks to stain the page. It said only a few words:

'I hope that you finally found happiness. Goodbye, Kate. Richard Castle'

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Like always I hope you leave a review, please. I need to know how much I suck.


	3. Looking Up form Rock Bottom

Okay everyone this is the chapter I think I may lose a few of you. For the rest I hop you enjoy it. Welcome to the twist.

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Chapter 3 – Looking Up from Rock Bottom

It had been one year, one year to the day, since Kate had last seen Castle. In that year her life had spiraled downward. The weight of her mother's case was lifted from her but it was replaced by the crushing weight of another loss. She had lost the most important thing in the world to her, Richard Castle.

Her marriage to Josh was just a precursor to all of her loss. She had married a man, who she knew she was not in love with, but she married him anyway. At the time she believed that she did not deserve a better man than this. That she did not deserve the man she was truly in love with, Richard Castle, so she married Josh because he asked.

But she was nothing more than a possession, a token, his trophy. Eventually he broke her down emotionally, wearing her down with verbal assault after verbal assault. He never hit her though because that would damage his shiny prize. She even now thought of herself as just a possession and on every level she knew it was wrong.

She sat on her couch remembering the past year as tears poured down her face. She never cried about it but today seemed appropriate. She had finally realized that it was her fault that she had lost Castle. She was just beaten up and miserable without him around.

She knew that she had been spiraling down, all the signs were there. She had lost a lot of weight. She couldn't hide the gaunt look in her face, it made her cheeks appear hollow and she hadn't been able to conceal the circles under her eyes for weeks. She knew she had been hiding from reality. When she looked in the mirror, she saw that her clothes were hanging off of her and she had taken to wearing tennis shoes and flats instead of her heels. She realized that she didn't care about her appearance, her job or anything. She hadn't cared for most of the year.

She knew that there were rumors flying around the 12th precinct about why she was letting her appearance go and the truth was she punishing herself; for Castle, for the boys being injured, for behaving the way she had…on some level she blamed herself for letting her life become the way it was and she thought she deserved it.

Kate just stared at herself in the mirror asking herself the same question over and over again 'What are you going to do about it?' She scrubbed her hand across her face wiping away the tears. "No more", she said out loud. She was going to fix this. She had to fix this, fix everything; fix things between her and the boys, her and the 12th and most importantly her and Castle. Kate sincerely hoped that she had not lost him forever, that she could somehow win him back. Even if they were only friends she would be satisfied because he would be in her life but she hoped for more.

She needed to deal with the disaster of her marriage and Josh, but that would have to wait because once again he was gone for a month, somewhere in Asia this time. She was going to use that time to fix herself and get back to Kate Beckett, the old Kate Beckett that used to look back from the mirror.

She thought about what to do first and to her it was obvious. Call Lanie. So she did but it went to voicemail. "Hey Lanie, call me. It's important."

"What next?" she asked her reflection. She had no idea about the next move. What does one do to change their life?

It was this talking to herself that made her see what she really looked like. Her clothes hung off her and her hair was toast. "Great. I look like Sky Blue when she was a junkie."

She had to laugh at herself, the first real laugh she had had in what seemed like forever. So it was time for a new haircut and new clothes, but first a shower. Then something in the line of old kick ass Beckett. After a few hours of spending Josh's money, Kate's phone rang.

"Beckett" she answered, she was feeling like her old self and it was evident.

"I haven't heard you answer like in a while, girl. What is so important?" Lanie fired back. She was trying to not get excited about Beckett sounding somewhat normal again.

Kate smiled because she knew her friend would be thrilled. "I'm leaving Josh." Kate had to hold the phone away from her ear because of the scream on the other end.

After Lanie finished her ear drum shattering response, she said "You have to tell me everything. Come to the morgue. I will be off in about an hour and you and I are going out for celebratory drinks."

"Okay, I will see you soon."

An hour later Kate walked into the building. Lanie just gazed at her. Kate's hair had been cut into a short pixie style similar to the one she had worn years before when she had first met Castle. She was dressed in a form fitting royal blue turtleneck sweater with grey straight legged slacks and of course 4 inch black heels.

Once Lanie regained her composure, she started rapid firing questions at Kate. "What changed? Why now? When did you make this decision?"

Kate just smiled at Lanie before saying "Let's go get a drink and I will explain."

As they sat at the crowded bar a few blocks from the precinct, Kate told Lanie everything about the past year; her marriage to Josh, his emotional abuse, why she took it and then her need to fix things between herself and the rest of the world. Her first step was to move out and drop Josh like a hot rock.

Kate was caught by surprise when Lanie said "Castle still asks about you, you know?"

"How do you know that?" Kate asked quickly, unable to contain her excitement. "I thought he hadn't talked to anyone from the 12th for over a year now."

"Nope, he and the boys are pretty close. He just asked them not to tell you, because he's still hurt." Lanie tone changed from light and airy to one of seriousness "Kate, he's changed. He's no longer childlike and innocent. He's become very cold to the rest of the world. Javier said that he's fine with them, at least that he tries to be the same old Castle but he's not. He's still hurting." But then Lanie stopped because she could see the hope draining from Kate like water out of a bathtub. "You know what that means don't you?"

Kate just shook her head. She felt the depression try to reach up and drag her down but she looked to Lanie for some sort of hope.

"He still loves you" Lanie said quietly but with conviction.

Before Kate could say anything, her phone rang. "Beckett" she answered. "Hello, Captain Wall. Yes Captain, I can be there in about 20 minutes. No Captain, I can work the scene alone and let the boys enjoy their night off. Thank you, Captain." As Kate was about to hang up Lanie's phone rang also. She waited knowing that their phone calls were about the same thing.

"Let me guess. Body drop?" Kate asked.

Lanie just nodded her head and they headed for the door.

When they arrived, the scene was full of uniformed officers. Lanie went towards the body while Kate caught up with the officer in charge. Once she was up to speed on what they knew, she walked over to the body.

"What do you have?" Kate asked Lanie.

"Female. 18 or 19 years old, red hair, blue eyes. About 5'5" inches tall" Lanie reported succinctly.

"Do you have cause of death?" Kate asked looking at the victim for the first time.

"I won't be able to determine the exact COD until I get her back to the morgue. It appears that she was gutted. The killer removed everything from the body. There is nothing left but a small chess piece, it looks like a rook" Lanie looked at Beckett and she was white as a ghost. "What's wrong, baby girl?"

Kate shook herself back to reality "Does she look familiar to you?"

"Not really."

"Come on, Lanie. A five foot five red head with blue eyes that's just out of high school age…A small rook also called a _castle_." Kate just stared at the body hoping and praying that it really wasn't her.

Lanie caught on quickly "Oh. My. God. You don't think this is her, do you?"

"No, but this looks very similar to her. The killer is sending a message. I need to get to him. I'll try his loft" Kate said turning on her heels.

"He's not there" Lanie called. "He's with Javi at the fights on 107th."

"Okay I will go there. You try and call your husband. Tell him what's going on. Tell him to find out where she is" Kate yelled over her shoulder running back to her car.

The drive over seemed to take hours but in truth it had only taken a few minutes. Her mind was swimming with what she was going to say. This is not how she hoped the first conversation in over a year would go. Her concentration was broken by her cell phone ringing.

Before she could get speak, Lanie's voice broke over the phone. "I couldn't get a hold of Javier, so I left a message and told him that you needed to talk to Castle but I didn't tell him what was going on. I did not want him to freak out. Then I tried to call Ryan's place, Jenny answered, she told me both the boys are with Castle."

"Okay, thanks" Kate said but she was now more worried than ever. Now she had to approach him cold with no warning and surrounded by an audience.

After she flashed her key to the city to get in, she started looking for the boys and calling their cell phones but no such luck. As she searched row by row she finally caught sight of Ryan sitting near the cage in the front row. "Ryan!" she called.

He spotted her coming closer. "What are you doing here, Beckett?" he said with a lot of surprise in his voice. He was surprised that she was looking like the old Beckett.

"I need to find Castle. Where is he?" she asked, seeing the empty seat next him and assuming the seat was for him.

"He's here" was all he said.

"Where is he, Kevin?" she asked.

Ryan looked at the cage and pointed.

Kate turned her head toward where he indicated to see Esposito standing outside the cage talking to the very large fighter on the inside. She just looked back at Ryan.

"There's Esposito. What is he doing and more importantly where's Castle?" she asked a little confused.

"Javier is the corner man."

"Okay great. Where is Castle?" now demanding an answer and slightly exasperated. But Kevin just kept looking at the cage where Esposito was standing.

The man stood and turned to look at Esposito before the next round started. Beckett's jaw dropped as she recognized the giant man standing there, he was battered and bleeding but it was him.

"Castle?"

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Thank you to all that have reviewed this story so far. I hope that you continue. As always Please review.


	4. Truth Be Told

To the few people who are still reading this here you go. Enjoy

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Chapter 4 – Truth Be Told

Even though her voice was weak, it carried to him. He would be aware of that voice anywhere. Castle heard her and looked directly to her and his face contorted with emotional hurt. He quickly tried to refocus on Javier but failed. Esposito also heard her and just glanced at her. Ryan was pulling her into the chair beside him.

"Castle, you need to focus. This guy is nasty" Esposito said but Castle was not listening he was still looking at her, when the bell rang for the next round.

Castle was grateful for the bell. He turned his attention to the equally large fighter across the cage from him. Castle smiled. His smile promised retribution and pain.

Kate pointed at Castle. "What the hell, Ryan? What is he doing in there?" her voice returned to her after the shock of seeing him in the cage.

The two fighters walked towards each other, circling and looking for an opening. Castle tried to focus on him but the hurt was growing inside. So when the other fighter lunged at him, Castle exploded. The first punch landed with such force that the fighter was thrown to the ground and Castle was on him raining blows down on his head with such power and speed that the referee had to pull Castle off after only a few seconds. The fighter was unconscious with blood coming out of his mouth.

Kate stood up in shock. This wasn't the Castle she knew.

"Kevin, please tell me what is going on?" she begged, still trying to comprehend that the person in the cage was Castle.

Ryan turned to look at her. "Beckett, Castle found a way to deal with the hurt. Don't begrudge him that just because he's changed a little. Deep down he's still the same old Castle. You just have to be willing to find it."

"What hurt?" she was still confused, but her heart sank a little because she already knew. It was because of her. It seemed like no matter what everything was her fault.

He did not answer, the look on her face said he did not have to.

Esposito wandered up. "What are you doing here?" he asked with a little heat in his voice. He knew what Castle did for her and it pissed him off that she didn't appreciate it. Even a year later he was still mad at her.

The question snapped her back to the reason she was tracking them all down. "I need all of you back at the 12th now. We have a case."

"Okay, I will drop Castle off at home after he gets checked out by the doctor" Ryan said.

Kate's response came a little too quickly. "No, bring him. It concerns him too." She knew she had to get him back at least on this one case. "Get him checked out and bring him to the 12th. Esposito you can ride with me." She was tired of him and all his shit, so it was time to find out what was going on. Time to fix this, she thought.

A few moments later Kate was driving and Esposito was sitting in the passenger seat staring out the window. They had not said a word to each other, until Kate blurted out "What is your goddamn problem with me, huh Espo?"

Javier smiled. He had listened to his wife's message but he wanted Kate to see Castle like that, in that fight, to see what she had caused. "You sure you want to know?" he asked in a mocking tone.

"Yes" she said nodding her head.

"Okay" he said sitting up a little straighter to tell her what happened. "You read the official report of us taking down Cole Maddox, the sniper who shot you?" She just nodded. "That's not what really happened. I didn't kill Cole, Castle did, for you."

She was speechless at the revelation. She stared at him for a long minute, until he yelled "Watch it, Beckett!" She had not been paying attention to the road and she almost side swiped a parked car. She pulled over and threw the car into park. Her anger was starting to outweigh her shock. Not angry that she did not know but angry that he did that, Castle killed someone, for her.

"What do you mean Castle killed him for me?" she said through gritted teeth. "You better start at the beginning."

The smile that occupied Esposito's face was suddenly gone with the look on her face. He was not ready to tell the whole story but he knew by the look on her face that he had no choice. "Okay. The three of us tracked Maddox to an apartment complex a few blocks away from Castle's place. Before we entered, I gave Castle my back-up because there was no stopping him from going in with us and thank god he did. We found the place Cole was scouting."

"Scouting for what?" she interrupted.

Javier looked at her knowing the next words would chill her. "He was looking for the best place to take a shot at Castle in his home." He was right, she shivered at the awareness, that that man was going to go after Castle too. Esposito continued the story.

"Cole shot Ryan through the shoulder first thing and then he ran. Castle and I chased Cole. We split up to search for him, and Cole found Castle first and they fought. Cole broke Castle's hand during the exchange and then knocked him out for a few seconds. I showed up before he could kill him. He ran again and I chased him down. He jumped over some crates and I did the same but somehow I landed wrong breaking my ankle. Cole was standing over me with gun pointed at my face. I remember looking down the barrel of the gun and seeing the bullet. Castle came around the corner and stood in front of Cole. He pointed my back-up weapon at Cole's face; it was maybe only three or four inches away, he was able to get that close because Cole was an arrogant son of a bitch.

'You won't shoot me. Because I have your boy here' Cole said with a sick smile.

'Go ahead shoot him. I am not here for him. I am here for her' Castle answered him.

I was a little hurt that Castle's response was so cold, but then Cole began to speak again. He sneered, 'For her, huh. When I get done here…'

Cole didn't finish his threat towards you because Castle pulled the trigger. The sound came quickly. I don't think he felt the pain at first but he felt the heat from the gun's barrel and the flash showed in his eyes. The bullet hit his cheek and he fell to the ground flat on his back more or less beside me.

Cole just looked up at Castle and smirked 'You need to improve your aim.' He actually laughed as blood filled his mouth.

'Oh that, that wasn't meant to kill you. This is' Castle responded to the taunt. Castle then pointed the weapon directly at Cole's chest and fired three rounds directly into his heart. With that Castle spoke again and it will stick with me forever. He looked down at Cole's lifeless body and said 'Like I said I was here for her.' It proves how much he loves you" Esposito didn't say any more but sat silent for a few seconds before he could turn to look at her.

Kate had tears running down her face for the second time that day. She could not speak. Esposito waited a few minutes before speaking again to let everything sink in.

"While we chased Cole, Ryan was able to call for back-up and they got us to the hospital. My injury turned out to be the worst, but it was worth it because you were safe. We all returned to the station and we were telling the 'official story' to the captain when Lanie came in and played your message about you getting married." He stopped again only for a second "Castle left and I followed him. He was hurt. He loved you and was waiting for you, and then you up and married someone else; someone obviously not worthy of you. It's funny if you think about it, you got married the same day Castle killed Cole. Hell of a wedding present." Esposito knew he had a sick sense of humor and he also knew that it was intentionally cruel to Beckett. But he had seen the damage from the way that she had ripped out Castle's heart.

Kate was still trying to process all the information that he had told her. She asked the only question she had a hold of "Why the fighting?"

"Castle was hurt and he started drinking, heavily. Alexis got him to stop after he came home and she caught him."

"How?" She asked cocking her head sideways.

Esposito just smiled at her. "Alexis asked him and told him that she still needed him and that was the last day he ever had a drink. That was 11 months ago. He doesn't drink at all anymore, but he still has a lot of rage inside. So Kevin and I took him down to the gym for training one day and he was a natural. The fighting helps and if you didn't notice he's damn good. I mean scary good" Esposito said with pride.

Kate knew he was right. "Thank you, Javier" she said resting her hand on his. He smiled at her. His anger was gone. He no longer carried that weight with him. He told her and now he was not mad. Kate would have to deal with everything but now he felt good enough to help her.

"We should probably get to the 12th; they are most likely there already" he said.

Kate smiled back at him and started the car and headed for the 12th. "Okay" was all she replied.

Then all of a sudden he turned in his seat and really looked at her for the first time tonight. "You got a haircut and you look better. What's up?"

"And you're a detective?" she asked sarcastically but she decided to tell him the truth. At least, as much of the truth as she could admit to him. He had been truthful, now it was her turn. "I needed to fix the things I screwed up over the last year; my friendship with you and Ryan, my rep as a cop but most importantly my relationship with Castle. I am getting a divorce. Hopefully Castle and I can be friends at the very least." She smiled grimly because in her heart she wanted him as her everything but that may not be possible after everything that had happened in the last year.

Esposito said while smiling "You can cross fixing things between us off the list. We are good." Kate smiled back happily.

"Oh, by the way, Castle is still in love with you. There's been no other woman but you."

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	5. The World Stands Still

For everyone who is still reading, thank you.

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Chapter 5 - The World Stands Still

"Kev, what are we doing here?" Castle asked again, irritated and confused that they were at the precinct. "I just want to go home and ice my face."

"Look, all I know is that Beckett wanted you, Esposito, and me down here now. Something about a case, that was all she told me before she got distracted by the sight of you." Kevin looked like a worried kid going to be caught between his fighting parents.

Castle did not really want to be there, for anything let alone any case. His face hurt, he had a cut above his right eye, which was forming a nasty looking bruise where his opponent caught him with an early hook. "I don't work with the NYPD anymore" he said as he tried to leave again, but the look on Ryan faces begged him to stay, so he did… against his better judgment.

As Kate and Esposito entered the 12th they were met by Lanie coming up from the morgue. She kissed Javier on the cheek but was not smiling. Something was wrong, way wrong.

"I looked up the morgue records and there has been more than one victim… at least 5 in the last year. All the same M.O. but the victims were never dumped in the same place or district. So no one ever put it together. The autopsies were all done by someone different and all the cases have different detectives. The only reason I went looking for more is because of the similarities but obviously no one else did" Lanie said while handing Kate a pile of file folders.

"Jesus. Let get up there and get started" Kate said talking to Lanie.

Poor Esposito just looked like a lost little kid with adults talking over his head. "What is going on?" he finally asked.

"I will explain upstairs, now let's go" Kate said walking toward the elevators.

Castle was sitting in the break room nursing his swollen face with some ice that he found stashed in the freezer. He heard the elevator doors open and stiffened, anticipating and somehow knowing it was Kate and he was right.

Ryan walked towards the break room to check on him when the doors opened. "Hi guys. Nice of you to finally make it" he said smartly.

"Where is he?" Kate asked because she had not seen Castle in the bullpen and she had looked.

"I'm in here" came from the break room. He walked toward the door and leaned against the frame. "So, _why_ am I here?"

He definitely looked different, Kate thought. His hair was longer and slicked straight back, his face now had a few little scars from fighting and gone were the suits replaced by t-shirts and jeans that clung to his skin, she noted. He had gotten physically bigger, stronger looking as well. It suited him but he was still Castle. It was there, that glint in his eye. Kate smiled at him.

He had to admit to himself that she looked even more beautiful than the first day he saw her. He noticed that there were changes but nothing that made him worry too much. He smiled a little at her, finally acknowledging to himself that he had missed her.

The moment was broken when Kate forced herself to cut to the point "Where is Alexis right now, Castle?"

"She's at the loft for the weekend. Why?" He stood up straighter and was paying full attention now. If there was anything to do with his daughter then he was in full parental and protective mode immediately.

Kate walked through the bullpen and into the conference room. Everyone followed her in and she shut the door behind them. She looked at Castle and said "You'd better sit."

"Just tell me" he said growing impatient. He continued to stand there staring at her.

"Okay. Lanie and I got a call tonight about a body drop. When we got there the victim was an 18 to 19 year old female, blue eyes, red hair" she said handing him the photos of that night's crime scene. "She was completely gutted and a small rook piece was left inside of her."

The shock of looking at the picture caused him to stumble into the chair next to him. She was concerned but knew it needed to be said so she continued "Lanie did some checking and found 5 more cases like this one over the past year." She handed the files to the boys and when they saw the other victim's pictures, they too understood.

There was a moment of silence until there was a knock at the door that surprised everyone. Kate turned to see the towering captain standing outside the door patiently.

"Captain, I did not know you were here this late" she said when she opened the door and looked at her watch. 1:30am.

"Paperwork sucks, Detective." The captain was a little taken aback at the sight of Castle sitting there and looking like he'd been assaulted. The captain turned to Kate and asked "What is going on?" ducking into the room. He literally had to duck to get in. Kate looked around at everyone. She would have liked to keep this case quiet because she didn't know if the captain would allow them to get involved in a case this personal but she knew they had to tell him the truth.

"The case we had tonight hit close to home." She handed the photos of all the victims to the captain. He looked at them. "Okay, the victims all look the same. So the killer has a type."

Lanie jumped in "Yes and no, Captain. Yes, he finds girls that physically look the type but all the victims had either their hair dyed or contact lenses put in or both post mortem."

"So you think we have a serial on our hands, okay. But what is with the late night meeting?" Captain Wall said placing the photos back on the table.

Kate looked to Castle "Castle, do you have your phone? If so, do you have any picture on it?"

He reached for it, nodding his head. He knew what she wanted.

"Okay, show him, please" Kate said knowing that the acknowledgement would hurt him more. Seeing the pictures side by side would be shocking to anyone.

Castle stood up and handed his phone over to the Captain. Captain Wall had to stare at the phone for a few seconds before realizing what he was looking at. It was a picture of Castle's daughter, Alexis.

The words spilled out of him unconsciously "Oh my god. She looks…" he trailed off before he completed the sentence.

Everyone was still for a moment before the Captain turned and headed for the phone in the conference room. He barked into the phone "Hey, this is Captain Wall. I need a 24 hour protection detail on one Alexis Castle. No, now! This is a top priority detail!" He turned back to Kate and asked "What else do you need?"

"Two things Captain, first that these cases are ours; we'd like to claim jurisdiction. Can you get us the rest of the evidence? Also I want Castle here to be allowed to work the case with us" Kate asked firmly.

"Everything will be here in the morning and Castle you are more than welcome" he said looking at Castle. As he was leaving he stopped and said "This is your only case and anything you need is yours. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help smooth things out for you."

With his exit everyone started heading toward the bullpen to get working and put together what they knew so far. Castle just sat there for a moment taking in the realization that someone was making girls look like his daughter and murdering them.

Everyone hurried around the bullpen trying to collect as much information on the case as possible, but still Castle had not moved for more than an hour. Kate just watched him through the window. She did not become aware of Lanie's appearance at her side, until she spoke.

"Did you tell him that you are leaving Josh?" Lanie asked looking at Castle also.

"I haven't really talked to him at all, just a few words" Kate bowed are head. "I really hurt him. Maybe I should just leave him alone" she mumbled.

"Don't you dare Kate Beckett!" Lanie was now standing directly in front of Kate with her hands on her shoulder, forcing Kate to look up at her. "That man still loves you a year later. After everything! Give it a chance."

The Captain reappeared at that moment. "You all should go home. Get a fresh start tomorrow after you get some rest. Look at this with fresh eyes. Detective Beckett, the protection detail has been outside of Castle's loft for over an hour. Take him home. Get him to his daughter. Organize someone to pick him up tomorrow too."

The three detectives went to protest about being sent home but they were cut short by a firm directive from the Captain. "That's an order. Go home, now." With that they all gathered their things up. In truth it was 3 am and not much could be done at that time of the day even though they wanted to keep working.

"I'll get him home" Ryan offered looking at the still unmoving Castle.

"No that's okay. I got him." Kate hastily said.

Ryan looked at her sideways and smiled a little. "You sure?"

"Yeah. Go home see your wife" she returned with a smile of her own.

Kate took a deep breath to steady herself before entering the conference room where Castle was sitting. "We are leaving for the night." He darted his eyes to her "Captain's orders" she said defending herself. "You need to go see Alexis. Be there for her in the morning. Explain why the cops are following her everywhere. Make sure that she understands the danger involved if she tries to lose them."

Castle did not say a word but stood and walked toward the door. The night had been a tough one for him and it was about to get worse. Neither one said anything as they left the precinct or during the drive to his loft. So when they arrived in front of his building Kate had to think to herself 'Nice talk, idiot. It was your chance and you blew it.'

He climbed out of her car, she tried to salvage the time with "Thank you, Castle."

He bent down to look through the open car door to see her face. She looked sad but appreciative. That just confused him even more. "For what?" he asked in search of clarity.

"For Cole" was all she said.

Castle knew instantly that Esposito must have told her the truth. What he had done. He smiled a weary smile and said

"Always."

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As always please review


	6. The Dark Side of the World

Here is the next chapter in this little saga. I hope you enjoy.

Thank you for the reviews everyone.

Fair Warning: there is a little cursing in this chapter.

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Chapter 6 - The Dark Side of the World

Beckett smiled all the way back to her place. They barely talked at all but she had hope. She was preoccupied with what had occurred when she walked into the apartment. So when she saw Josh standing in the kitchen she was completely caught off guard.

"Where the hell have you been?" Josh sneered at her, before she had even shut the door.

"I had a case and the Captain wanted us to work late" she fired back at him. She wanted zero to do with him right now. In spite of everything that had happened throughout the day, she had been in a good mood but the fact he was there soured it instantly. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be gone for the next month" she spat him.

Josh stalked out of the kitchen to look at his wife and the woman standing there was not the person he was expecting at all. Instead of shiny prize that he had broken down and made perfect, it was old the Kate Beckett. He would have to retrain her from the beginning. "What the hell did you do to your hair? It looks hideous" he shot at her trying to reclaim his prize, expecting her to attempt to appease him in some way.

Kate half-smiled knowing that her next statement would get to him without a doubt. "I don't know… I like it, so does everyone else, including Castle" she said walking past him toward the bedroom. She had deliberately defied him for the first time in close to a year and she felt good.

Josh had grabbed her arm spun her around and backhanded her across the face. His forearm made the most contact, making her fall to the floor with her lip bleeding. Josh stood over her savoring the power he felt as he hit her. He realized that he should have done this a long time ago to make his shiny prize even better.

"I told you never to go near him again. Look what happens when you defy me" he snarled at her. He was enjoying the sight of her bleeding from her mouth, but he had forgotten one important fact. She was a cop, and that meant she had a gun and it was currently pointing at his chest.

"Put your goddamn hands up and back away, now!" she screamed at him.

He did as he was told. The look on his face promised retribution though.

Kate got up off the floor and walked backwards toward the door. "We are done, Josh" she said closing the door of the apartment. As soon as it clicked shut, she turned and ran.

The realization finally hit her when she was driving. She was bleeding. Kate wanted to cry but she would not let herself do that. She would not give him that victory over her. Kate decided that it was so late that it was early. So she headed to the 12th to catch a little sleep and try to hide the bruise that was forming on her cheek and eye before everyone arrived in the morning.

Castle could not sleep so instead he sat at the kitchen counter, waiting. He had to think about what to say to his daughter. He knew he had to tell her the truth but how? How could he tell her the truth when he knew it would devastate her?

It was around 8:30 in the morning when she came down the stairs. She was cheery from a restful nights sleep. "Hey, Dad what are you doing up?" she asked heading towards the fridge but the look on his face told her that something bad had happened. It was serious and she knew that he would tell her the truth. She changed course and sat on the stool next to him.

He looked at her for a moment considering how to explain what was going on. "Honey, there are cops outside the building" he started.

"God. Why Dad? Is Beckett okay?" Alexis imagined what bad things could have befallen her favorite cop, even though she was still mad at her.

Castle looked at his daughter in amazement; her first concern actually went out to Beckett even after everything that happened. It was short lived because the truth was next and he had no idea how to explain it to her gently. He decided to just get on with it and deal with the fallout.

"No, this is about you" he said. Alexis blinked uncomprehendingly. He went on, hoping that the details would help her understand. "Last night Beckett and Lanie were called to a murder scene. The victim was an 18 to 19 young girl, 5'5" tall. Her hair was dyed red and blue contacts placed in her eyes after she was killed. Then whoever did this placed a small chess inside her chest. A rook."

"What are you saying?" Alexis was able to squeak out through her shock.

"Someone is killing girls around your age and dressing them up to look like you. This is not the first one. There have been 5 others before the one last night" Castle said bluntly. He knew that he had to make his daughter understand the importance of the situation.

Alexis' face turned to one of pure horror as the reality of what her father was saying became real in her mind. 'Why?' was all that ran through her mind.

Castle hugged his daughter tightly, as she started to cry with realization. "It's okay baby, no one will hurt you ever! I won't let them" he said trying to comfort her. "There are officers outside. They are going with you everywhere until this is over." Castle's face hardened before his last statement, knowing that he would probably face an argument. "You are moving back here today and you will stay here until this is all over. No discussion. School and home. That is it. I want you to be protected. Don't even think about ditching the cops. Understand me?"

Alexis nodded her agreement, as speech was not a possibly at this moment. She knew that in other circumstances she might have argued about moving back home but she knew this situation was bad if her father made sure she had a police protection detail placed on her.

It was around 10 that morning when Castle called his mother at her acting studio. "Hello Mother, could you please come by the loft? No, Mom not later, now. Thank you, I will see you soon."

Fifteen minutes later Martha walked into the loft. It was very somber house for the first time since this place had become Casa Castle many years earlier. Martha didn't think she had ever seen such a serious face on Richard.

"Richard, what is so important? And why are there cops outside of the door?" Martha was a little upset with her son but he slowly explained everything.

As the reality of the situation sunk in, Martha slowly lowered herself into a chair at the dining room table. "What do you need from me?" she asked. She would help protect her family in whatever way was needed.

"I would like you to move back here for a while. Alexis should not be left alone. The Captain at the 12th asked me to work on the case with them, so I will not be here" he answered.

Martha did not even think about it. "Absolutely. But Richard, working at the 12th again?"

He did not even get a chance to respond, Alexis had been sitting on the stairs since her grandmother arrived and she answered for him. "You should go Dad. Not for me but these girls who were murdered. This person needs to be stopped, so go. I will be okay with Grams and whatever cops are outside the door."

Castle was always surprised by his daughter. She had no thoughts for herself, only the other people affected by this disaster of a situation. "Okay, I will. But you call me when you are ready to go get your stuff from the dorm. I will go with you."

Once again Captain Wall was the last one out and the first to arrive that day or so he believed but he caught sight of something in the conference room. It was Kate. When he opened the door she jumped. She asked the question before she could catch it in her throat. "How do you do that?"

He ignored the question out right as he caught sight of her eye and cheek "What happened to you?"

She had forgotten about the bruises on her face, until she touched it. It hurt. "Oh you know, I forgot how to walk in these boots. Took a bad step, fell and hit my face on the way down." She lied to him and he bought it. It was a relatively good excuse since she hadn't worn heels for most of the year.

"Okay, you be careful" he said as he exited the room.

Kate decided that she needed to try and cover the bruise before the boys see it. Kate hurried to the restroom to cover the mark on her cheek before the boys arrived. It was a close call though as they walked off the elevator at the same time she entered the restroom.

The makeup she had in her purse was able to cover most of it but she could still see it under the makeup. She hoped that by covering it with makeup that it didn't call more attention to it.

"Morning, Beckett" came from Ryan before he noticed the discoloration of her cheek "What happened?" he asked blatantly staring at her cheek.

She decided that lying was the best option. Their case was too important to worry them about her. "Oh you know: late night, new boots, and one bad step. So I get a beauty mark for a while. I'm okay other than a little embarrassed."

Esposito was a little suspicious "You alright?" the tone of the question was not asking about the bruise, it was asking about her and her emotional state.

"Yeah I'm fine. Did you guys get the rest of the evidence?" Kate asked quickly trying to change the subject.

"Not yet. Cap called and said it would be here in a little while. We were going to go take a look at the other dump sites. See if anything sticks out about them. You want to go?"

"Uh… no. I will stay. Comb through what we have got already. You guys go, call if you find anything. Do you know if Castle is coming in today?" she answered back trying to pass the last question off as nonchalantly as she could, but failing.

Esposito and Ryan just looked at each other and grinned. "No idea, but I think he might show" Esposito said nudging Ryan.

Kate rolled her eyes saying "Get going," and with that the boys left.

Kate passed the next few hours studying the case, building the board, and putting the evidence together that was slowly trickling in from the different precincts. While there was not much, they now had a single hair. It was enough for DNA but it did not come up in the system. At least they had something now for comparison when the time came for it.

As the morning slipped into afternoon, there had been no sign of Castle and Kate's face was really starting to hurt. She slipped away into the restroom to splash some cool water on her face to try to help her get through the rest of the day. It helped on first contact but when she looked up she saw that she had accidently wiped big smears of makeup off of her face. There was nothing to do but remove all of it and start over.

"Crap" she quietly said to herself. The makeup was in her purse…out in the bullpen. She cracked the door to the bathroom open and saw that there was nobody between her and her desk. She swung the door open wide and hurried towards her desk. She made it about three steps when she ran into a moving wall of solid muscle.

Startled by the contact she looked up…into Castle's face. She could see the surprise on his face being replaced by recognition and then anger as he realized what had happened to her.

"What is that?" he growled placing his hands on the sides of her face gently pulling it up to look into her eyes. She knew by the look on his face it was no use lying. He could still read her like a one of his books.

"Castle, don't worry about it. I already left him" she said trying to calm him but it was no use. That was all he needed to hear, a confirmation that Josh did this to her.

"Where is he?" At this point Castle was so pissed that you could visibly see the heat coming off of him.

She gripped the front of his coat thinking that maybe he would stay. "Home, I think, but don't go. Please" she said practically begging him. She knew what was going to happen and she could not stop it. He was going.

Castle stormed out of the 12th. He was headed to Kate's apartment but then it dawned on him that he did not know where she lived. She had moved in with Josh.

Castle called Esposito. "Where does Beckett live?" he demanded.

"What's going on?" Esposito asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Where?" Castle just asked again. Esposito nudged Ryan and after placing his hand over the phone asked him to call Beckett, and then he answered Castle.

Castle hung up without another word. Esposito stared at his phone for a second…then rushed to find Ryan.

"What is going on? Castle sounds pissed" Esposito asked Ryan. Ryan held up his hand for quiet, listening to Kate he could hear her desperation through the phone. His face was one of deep concern as he got off the phone and looked to Esposito. Ryan started running for the car before explaining anything to Esposito.

"Bro, what's going on?" Esposito shouted as they got into the car.

"We have to get to Beckett's place now" was all that Ryan said getting into the driver's seat.

They flew down the streets of New York with the siren blaring. "The bruise on Beckett's face was from Josh, not from falling down. We didn't see half of it. Apparently she's pretty good with makeup. Anyway Castle saw the whole bruise and he's heading for Josh's place. We have to get there quick, we both know how protective he is of her. We'll be lucky if Josh doesn't end up dead."

They hurried, blatantly using their siren to get there faster and arrived at Beckett's in record time. They ran into the building and headed directly toward Beckett's place. They were almost there when they heard the familiar sound of wood splintering and the sound of Castle voice shouting for Josh, followed by Josh yelling.

"Oh Shit!"

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	7. The Consequences and the Rewards

Enjoy the read.

I should also add I don't own Castle in any shape or form.

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Chapter 7 – The Consequences and the Rewards

"Castle, what are you doing here?" Josh said trying to act innocent but he knew exactly why Castle was there and exactly what was about to happen to him. Bad things, very bad things.

The pain that was about to befall Josh caused Castle to smile, an evil, stomach turning smile. "You know why." He stalked closer to Josh. As Castle got within reach, Josh proved he was not going down without a fight. Josh struck Castle in the face first with a hard blow.

It actually stopped Castle from moving forward for second. He was bleeding from a cut above his eyebrow. It was a cut that was originally given to him from a fight the day before. "Good for you Josh, but now it's my turn" Castle said as he grabbed Josh by the shirt and tossed him over the kitchen counter. This caused him to crash into the bunch of glasses on the counter. He landed hard onto the broken pieces of glass, which buried themselves deep into his flesh. Before Josh could regain his feet he was sent flying over the counter again. Castle took a little bit of joy in the scream that Josh let out while flying through the air.

Castle waited this time for Josh to stand before continuing. Castle's fist connected hard with his face, the sound that came from Josh's nose as it smashed backward into his face was sickening and the blood started flowing freely from the break. "Having fun?" Castle asked looking down at him.

Josh turned to see Castle standing over him, just like he had stood over Kate. But he did not have a gun, he thought wistfully. It was then that he saw something strange; Esposito and Ryan were standing by the broken front door. They were in no rush to help him. Josh called "help me" at them but they just stared at him.

Josh calling for help caused Castle to turn to see the boys, but when they made no move to help, Castle turned back to Josh and knelt close to him and whispered, "No one is going to help you."

Another whack came but it was Josh who struck Castle again with a head butt. Hitting him in the fresh cut from the fight the night before, but Josh had broken it open, again. Josh tried to run while Castle was dealing with the pain but Castle was on him before he made it two feet.

Castle caught him, picked him up like he weighed nothing and slammed him down onto his back. You could hear the air rush from Josh. Castle was not done yet, though. He rained down blow after blow onto Josh face, arms, and torso, whatever he could connect with. Castle was intent on causing Josh as much pain as he could within a limited amount of time.

The boys finally stepped in after the good solid dozen blows or so. Josh was a bloody mess, barely conscious and barely audibly groaning. As they pulled Castle off of Josh, Castle added one final blow. He stomped down as hard as he could onto Josh's right hand and by the sound it made meant he broke more than a few bones in it. Josh let out a short scream of pain.

"Castle, neighbors called the police. Uni's are coming. We have to go" Esposito said to Castle still holding him by the arm.

Ryan looked at Javier for a second holding Castle's other arm. "No, we stay and explain what happened. I mean explain everything that happened. They're cops, we're cops. They will understand taking care of one of our own."

Esposito just nodded at Ryan before talking to Castle again. "We have to put cuffs on you. Make it look like we arrested you and Castle, do yourself a favor and keep your trap shut."

Castle was coming out of his rage and returning to reality. "Yeah, okay. What about him?" he asked nodding at Josh.

Ryan smiled at the destruction in front of him. "The patrol guys can take care of him."

The uniforms arrived a few seconds later, guns drawn. Ryan held up his badge. "Detective Ryan, Homicide, 12th. Put the guns away" Ryan said to the uniformed officers. "They had a little fight here and we have the suspect in custody."

As they all looked at Josh broken and bleeding on the floor, one of the uniforms popped off with, "This looks like more than a fight, sir."

Esposito and Ryan looked at each other for a second. Esposito spoke up, "Okay look, the guy on the floor there is Josh Davidson, he's married to a cop and he hit her last night, left a big bruise on her face. So our friend here taught Mr. Davidson a lesson about hitting females and especially female cops."

Ryan jumped in to finish for Javier "So we are going to take Mr. Castle there and charge him, okay?" The last was not question but a way of telling them what was going to happen.

"Will you guys call an ambulance for him? We are going to go." With that the three of them left, Castle still in handcuffs.

As they walked Castle through the lobby of the 12th everyone was looking at the sight of Castle; cut, bruised and still bleeding from both his face and his knuckles…and still cuffed. Even more people gawked when they arrived at the bullpen. The boys dropped Castle down in his chair next to Beckett's desk.

She just stared at him. "What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded.

There was no discernable expression other than concern on his face. She had taken all of the makeup off of her face. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. He reached up to touch the bruise but stopped himself, unsure if she would welcome his touch.

"What…yes I'm fine" she said taken aback by his question, still amazed that even now, sitting there in handcuffs and bleeding, his only worry was for her. She wanted to yell at him about putting himself in danger but did not want to in front of everyone. She grabbed him by the chain linking the cuffs and pulled him toward the interrogation room.

He yelped as the cuffs dug into his skin. "Apples, Apples" he repeated until she lightened up on the pulling.

Once inside, Kate pushed him into a chair and began to pace around the room. "Castle, you can't do things like this. I mean look at yourself! You look like Frank Castle, for Christ sake."

He perked up a little. "You think I look like Frank Castle" he asked smiling.

She looks at him with amazement and worry. "That's not a good thing. I was hoping for the old Castle, the one I know, the one I fell in lo…" She trailed off before finishing her sentence. She did not want to get in too deep with him right now.

But he heard her and was not about to let it go. She was so close to admitting her true feelings. "Finish what were you going to say" he demanded quietly.

"Not now. Maybe later" she said hoping to have a little more time.

Castle sat forward in the chair, placing his hand on the table, palm side up. "The time for later is over, Kate. It's time now" his eyes glowed with passion as he gazed into her eyes.

She was the one that wanted to talk, to get the truth out there, but not under these circumstances. Kate knew he was right no more laters and he was not about to let it go. She drew in a deep breath telling herself that it was time. It was time to fix this. She knew that it was time to make things right and the first thing was to admit her true feelings to Castle. "Castle, I am in love with you, I have been forever."

Castle stood up and walked to her on the other side of the room where she had stopped her pacing. He looped his hands over her head, to trap her inside his locked arms. He smiled at her.

"I love you too, Kate."

They were relishing the moment until she pulled away. Her face showed confusion. "I thought you were mad at me."

He smiled a small weary smile "Kate, I haven't been mad at you in a long time. Just hurt, but I am getting over that rather quickly." With that, he leaned in and kissed her, a deep passionate kiss. They were trying to make up for lost time in that one kiss.

The couple's kiss broke into smiles at each other, when they hear cheering from the other side of the glass. Both of them know what two detectives were on the other side of the glass. Kate quickly spun around pressing herself into Castle. Her back to his front and grabbed his cuffs again, this time to undo them, before they exited the room and returned to the bullpen.

As they entered the bullpen everyone was staring at them. "What?" Kate finally said to the whole room. No single person replied but the whole room answered at once. Most with "It's about damn time." Some even clapped. Kate's face reddened with embarrassment and Castle beamed.

"Alright, let's get back to work." came from Kate after a minute or so. Castle was still smiling when the Captain interrupted.

He was standing in front of her desk. Kate had to wonder, not for the first time, how a man so big moved so quietly. "Kate, I just got a report. Your apartment door was kicked in and your husband was assaulted. He's pretty beat-up."

"Oh." Kate tried to feign shock "How badly, sir?"

"He's in the hospital. He's got a couple of broken ribs and nose, fractured cheek bone and eye socket, and his hand was crushed. He also needed at least fifty stitches to close the wounds to his head."

Castle tried to look troubled but was failing terribly.

Captain kept going. "The report goes on to say that two detectives from the 12th arrested a suspect." He looked over his shoulder to the boys. They quickly decided it was time for coffee. Then he looked at both Kate and Castle for the first time and their matching beat up faces. "Kate, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this was retaliation for your cheek. Right?"

Kate knew there would be no more lying to the Captain. "Yes, sir. My soon-to-be ex-husband hit me last night and" she looked at Castle before finishing. "Then someone once again tried to protect me."

Captain Wall nodded in understanding then looked directly at Castle. "Okay, just don't go doing that again, Mr. Castle." He was about to walk away but then he remembered something "Kate, you may want to find a different place to stay tonight. Your apartment, as the report said 'looked completely trashed' and your husband will be discharged from the hospital tonight also."

"I was planning on checking into a hotel anyway, Captain" Kate replied.

Castle spoken up for the first time since the Captain approached. "Kate, you will stay with me."

Captain Wall smiled again. "Good looking out for her, Castle. On both accounts." Then he was gone.

Kate was actually shocked this time by the Captain. "No, Castle that will not be necessary. I will find a place."

"No, Kate you are coming to stay with me tonight. We've spent too much time apart this past year. No more laters. So right now I am not giving you a choice, but the choice on permanently is up to you," Castle was serious but hopeful.

She was going to protest because that was her nature. She couldn't help it but then she realized what he had asked of her and she stopped before she said anything. She was worried for a second but she knew he would never hurt her. So she simply answered "Okay," with a slight smile.

He had to make sure she understood what he asked of her. No miscommunications. "Kate, you do know what the question was, right? I don't want there to be any confusion."

"Well you just demanded that I stay with you tonight and you asked me to stay, as in move in with you, right?" She was a little worried that she read too much into his statement.

Castle's eye glinted in the familiar fashion of his. "That's right. So are you staying the night or forever?"

Kate looked at his man sitting before her. He was beaten, bruised and completely in love with her. So the answer was easy.

"Forever."

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Yeah I am not one for slow building relationship. The show as done enough with that, so it gonna move fast.


	8. Moving Times

Sorry this is late. Enjoy.

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Chapter 8 – The Moving Times

Both just sat in silence for a while, content. Neither noticing the busy bullpen, just enjoying being close to each other. Reality eventually snuck back in to disturb their happy moment. They had a killer to catch.

They worked through the rest of the day trying to find the one clue that would lead them to the person who was after Alexis, or at least Alexis' look-alikes. But as the day faded and nothing new developed they had to face the fact that they need to head home, together. Kate was the first to mention it was getting late and that she had a slight problem.

"Castle I need to go back my place and get some things before we go to your place," she said while assuring him that she was still going home with him. She stretched hard since this was the first time she moved from her desk in hours.

"You don't have to, you know? I will get you whatever you need. You know I'm good for the money," Castle said trying to convince her that she did not have to go back to her place with Josh.

Kate smiled at him and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Castle there are things I can't leave behind. It will be okay. I can take care of myself. I'll make sure my gun is loaded and ready to go."

Then the realization hit Castle that she meant to go alone. "I don't think so. You are not going alone. He could be out of the hospital already. So no Kate, you are not going. Especially not alone."

"Castle, you can't go with me. If the neighbors see you again they will call the police and you could be arrested for the second time today. I don't want our first night living together be the memory of me bailing you out of jail" Kate smiled lightly, looking down at him still in his chair next to her desk. She touched his face nonchalantly and admitted the love he had for her even now.

Over hearing the conversation between them, Esposito spoke up "Ryan and I could go with her. We'll watch out for her and meet you back at your place in an hour or so."

Ryan stepped up next to his partner "Yeah. We'll make sure Josh isn't around."

Kate was about to object when the Captain Wall cut in. "Sounds good. You two are on protection detail for Detective Beckett. From port to port" he said pointing between Esposito and Ryan. Castle nodded his head in agreement. He didn't like not being there but sending Esposito and Ryan was second to being there himself. Kate knew it was useless to argue with them.

Once the trio left the room, Castle got up from his chair and walked over to the Captain. "Thank you, Captain Wall."

"No problem, family is family."

Castle just nodded his head in agreement. After a few minutes of small talk they were interrupted by Castle's phone. "DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD DAD" it repeated over and over again. He stepped away from the Captain to answer the call.

"Alexis is everything okay?" he hurriedly. He hadn't checked on her all day and wanted to know she was safe.

"Yes dad, everything is fine. I just helped Grams unpack her stuff, but that brought up the fact I need to go back to my dorm and get some things."

Castle took a deep breathe, she was okay. "Yeah, I will be home in a while and Kate and I will take you over there."

"Kate?" Alexis questioned. She disliked the idea of seeing Kate. While she was still concerned for her in the abstract sense, she didn't want to see her. Kate had hurt her dad badly and she was not about to forget and forgive so easily.

Castle could hear the loathing in Alexis' voice. He knew this was about to get interesting. "Yeah" he said slowly racking his brain, trying to come up with how to break it to her that Kate was not only coming over but moving in, tonight. "Kate's having a rough time, so she's going to be staying with us for a while."

"We are so going to talk about this when you get home tonight," was all that Alexis managed to get out between her clenched lips before hanging up.

"That should be fun" Castle said to no one in particular.

"What?" said the Captain.

Castle turned to see the Captain. "Oh, nothing really, Alexis needs to go to her dorm room to pick some stuff up. Kate and I can take her."

"No Mr. Castle, the boys and I will accompany you and Detective Beckett. We need to show whoever this guy is, that there is no chance in hell he can get to your daughter. It's time for a show of force. Tell the guys to meet us over at your loft in 90 minutes and we'll go together."

"Yes, Captain" was all that Castle said before dialing his phone.

As the trio made their way to Kate's, the guys took the time to point fun at her rekindling the old camaraderie they had.

"So you're moving in with Castle?" Ryan asked innocently, he was baiting her and she knew it.

She knew what he was doing but decided to play along. "Yes" was all that she replied. She did not even look at him. She just stared happily out the window.

It was Esposito's turn now. "Little fast, don't you think?"

Once again, a simple one word answer. "Nope" she said still looking out the window. Kate knew it was getting to them. She could see them plotting on how to get her. Before they could attempt again they arrived at the apartment building.

As they walked into the building, no one spoke to them, they were watching Kate. So it was in the elevator and up to her place. There was police tape on the door, which was propped up against the frame, it fell over with the slightest touch from Kate. The door crashed to the floor hard and revealed the destruction behind it. There was glass all over the floor from Josh flying, broken furniture and a large pool of blood where the boys had pulled Castle off of him. Kate turned around to face Ryan and Esposito since she was shocked by the sight.

"I guess you'll never have to worry with Castle. No one in their right mind will ever mess with you" Esposito said leaning against the door frame, he was grinning.

Ryan was also looking about the place. "That's for sure. You should have seen it. Josh was sent flying all over the place. He sort of reminded me of a flying squirrel."

Kate shook her head. "Okay guys, help me grab my stuff, so I don't have to come back ever again."

"Yo, chica. We don't have that much room in the car."

"It's a good thing I don't have much here then Espo" she said patting him of the shoulder. "Most of my stuff is in storage. Josh didn't like having it around. I have some clothes and a few small things and that's it."

"Beckett I have to ask" said Ryan briefly pausing to gather courage up. "Why did you stay with this guy? I mean you didn't love him. So why?"

"Because truthfully, I believed that I didn't deserve better. Okay. It took a year away from Castle to see what I really wanted" her eyes were starting to water a little at the admission but she felt refreshed telling the truth.

Esposito cut in taking to break up the suddenly soft moment. "Okay where do we start?"

Kate smiled and started pointing them in various directions and they grouped together things before taking them downstairs. As they each grabbed armfuls of stuff, Ryan's phone rang. He quickly passed his stuff to Esposito who complained loudly about getting the extra weight piled on. "I'm going to take this. I will see you guys downstairs. Okay?"

"Sure" came from Kate as she directed Espo out the door before he starting cussing at his partner.

"Detective Ryan" was his greeting for Castle. He just nodded with understanding at the message from Castle and hung up. He hurried to meet the others as they loaded the last of the stuff into the car. It was kind of a sad sight. All of Kate's belongings from her _home _only filled about half the trunk.

"That was Castle. He wants us to meet him and the Captain at his loft. Alexis needs to go to her dorm room to collect some things and the Cap wants a show of force" Ryan explained to them.

Kate froze in place for a second. She hadn't even thought about Alexis being at Castle's loft when she got there. Kate was sure the girl would hate her and she had a right. They piled into the car and headed that way.

When Alexis heard the door open she went downstairs to talk to her Dad about Kate but was surprised at the extremely large man standing there with him.

"Honey, this is Captain John Wall. He will be accompanying us to your dorm" Castle said by way of introduction.

Alexis was in shock about the man standing before her and it took Castle saying her name twice to break the trance. "Alexis" Castle said nodded toward the Captain's extended hand.

"Oh, sorry. Alexis" she said blushing at the etiquette faux pas. She noticed that her hand disappeared in his.

"Alexis, it's nice to meet you. How are you holding up?" Captain Wall's voice washed over her in a soothing tone.

"Okay I guess. I mean how do you react to something like this?" She turned to grab her coat before continuing, "We should get going. The dorm fills with people in about half an hour."

Castle was the first to speak up. "No, we have to wait for the others. Ryan, Esposito and Kate are all going with us." Castle had started toward the kitchen trying to distance himself from his daughter. He was sure they would have a very heavy conversation about Kate but now was not the time. He tried to pass his sudden move off as being a polite host. "Captain, would you like something to drink while we wait?"

The Captain followed Castle toward the kitchen and eyed the stools there but decided against it. "Water, if you don't mind."

It was a few minutes later before there was a knock on the door. "I will get it" the Captain said setting his glass down, placing his hand on his gun.

"Who is it?" he asked in his best commanding tone.

On the other side of the door the three friends just looked at each other a little scared to answer. It was Kate who finally voiced up "It's us, Captain Wall."

Esposito threw in, "Can you let us in? Kate's stuff is heavy."

Alexis looked at her father for a second "Stuff, Dad?"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you Kate's moving in" he said shyly. He closed his eyes waiting for a whack on the shoulder from her but nothing came. He slowly opened one eye to look at her.

Alexis was just standing there, her face as red as her hair. Castle knew he had to explain fast. But before he could the Captain opened the door and the trio steamed in and Alexis was near the door ready to face Kate.

Kate was shaken a little at the proximity of the redhead. When she finally was able to put down the things she was holding, she focused on the little Castle. "Alexis, hi" Kate said uncomfortably but then she saw Alexis' face soften a great deal in the blink of an eye.

"Your face?" Alexis questioned.

"That's from…" she was about to lie, but more lying would only be for the worst. "It from my…" but she did not get to continue as Alexis wrapped her arms around Kate and hugged her tightly. Kate smiled a little and her eyes got a little watery.

"Welcome home, Kate" Alexis said understanding what had happened to Kate. Everything she needed to know she knew in the first second.

"Okay, it's time to get you moved home too" Castle said as the two broke apart. "So how are we going to do this, Captain Wall?"

Everyone in the room turned to the Captain who was still standing near the door; he too had a tear in his eye.

"Cap, are you crying?" came from Esposito.

"Shut up, Espo" was the response he got from the Captain as he wiped his eye of the back of his hand. "Okay, this is how it's going to work. Three car line, Ryan, Esposito and I will ride in a car in front car, Castle, Beckett and Alexis in the middle, and a patrol will follow behind. Once we get there, Beckett and Castle will lead the away with Esposito and Ryan on either side of Alexis and I will follow behind everyone else. You got it?"

Everyone nodded and headed for the front door.

The drive over was uneventful, which was good. They all took their positions around Alexis as they walked down the halls of the dorm. The other students just stared at the sight of the armed escort. Alexis was starting to get embarrassed and turning shades of red, but no one could see her through the mass of homicide detectives.

When they got to her room she opened the door and stopped still. "My god, Dad" was all she said turning to hide her face in her dad's chest.

"Dear god. Who could have done something like this?" Castle asked to no one in particular, hugging his daughter tight.

The room was covered in blood. The girl in Alexis' bed had her hair dyed but this time with blood and she had been gutted like the others but her intestines were strung about the room. There was no small chess piece; instead it was drawn on the wall in black market with one word inside of it:

"Soon"

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Please Review. They help be a better writer.


	9. The Routine

Please Enjoy.

I Don't own Castle any shape or form.

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Chapter 9 – The Routine

They were all shaken when they found the body in Alexis' dorm room, but after a few days the terror had worn off yet the nightmare persisted. For Alexis it was the sight of the massacre in her dorm room that haunted her, for Castle it was the thought that it could have been Alexis.

The Captain ordered Kate to stay with the Castle family for protection. He did not have to, though, since she was not going anywhere; also she lived there now… technically. He went on to assign more protection to Alexis for when she did leave the loft. Instead of just a patrol car, she now had four armed guards at all time. When she wasn't running errands, they were stationed outside of her apartment building. They were trusted men, each with a military background, and handpicked by Esposito. No one was getting to her.

As the days passed, the makeshift family had fallen into a repetitive motion for each day. They developed a routine that they all seemed to fall into and enjoyed. They had established a complex routine for the mornings, each doing a job to get everybody ready for the day. Everything was going as the previous days in the week until an unexpected phone call disturbed their comfortable routine.

"Hey big cheese, how are you doing?" Castle said with a smile on his face. "What do you mean?" Castle said flatly as his face fell and his attention focused on what the person on the other end was saying. He turned his back on the ladies.

As the conversation dragged on, Kate could tell it was not good news by the way Castle's body tightened up. The three women watched him closely. Castle finally spun around to face them. "What?" he asked them alarmed by Kate, Martha and Alexis staring intently at him, as if he was on some daytime talk show.

Alexis was the one who answered him "You're getting mad, Dad."

"No, I am not" he denied.

"Richard, please. You might as well draw the word on your forehead" Martha said waving a hand at him.

He just smiled and without another word, walked from the kitchen to his office for privacy.

The three of them just looked at each other wordlessly for a few moments, before shouting could be heard from the office. Castle was pissed about something yet they could not make out most of what was being said except for the last words. "There's no chance in hell that's happening!" And then silence.

When he emerged from his office he was trying to act like nothing was wrong but it clearly was. Brushing it off, they went on with morning getting ready. Alexis was off to her classes and both Kate and Castle off to the 12th. Martha was going to go to her acting studio for the day. So the knock at the door at 9 was nothing new.

Kate walked toward the door and opened it for the waiting detective. "Morning, Espo" she said as she closed the door behind them. Esposito was amused about something but that quickly died down with the heavy mood in the room.

He looked at Kate and quietly whispered "Is everything okay?"

Kate just shrugged her shoulder shaking her head. Kate quietly answered him "I don't know. The Mayor called and since then he's been pissed." They were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Alexis, bag in hand.

"Detective Esposito, are you ready to go?" The redhead inquired. She was ready to get out of the house even if it meant going to her Intro to Mid-European Art History class.

"Yeah, you?" he asked back.

"Yep" was all she said. With a wave to her father, they were out the door and gone.

Kate smiled at them as they left but it faltered when she turned to see Castle still simmering at the kitchen table. She wandered over to him, slowly trying to figure out how to approach the situation. She wanted to make it better but knew nothing about what was going on. So as she slid her arms around his neck, she asked "What was the call about?"

Castle huffed a little, settling himself for the explanation "The Mayor called to tell me that Josh is pressing charges against me for assault. He said he wouldn't if he could talk to you alone. I told him to go ahead and charge me because that wasn't going to happen." He was starting to get mad again. The idea that Josh wanted to see Kate, alone, pissed him off beyond belief.

Kate was mad now too. How dare Josh try a basically blackmail Castle, but she had to smile to herself because Castle was proving once again that nothing would stop him from protecting her, even possibly go to jail. He spoke again refocusing her attention back to him.

"I have to go see my lawyer today and discuss a plan of action. Unfortunately you will have to go to the precinct alone. I will meet you there later."

"I can just meet with him. You know…" She dropped the idea in mid-sentence seeing that just the idea of Josh and her in the same room upset him immensely.

"That will never happen." Castle said "Kate, I swear I'm not trying to be controlling here but this guy hit you and that will never, ever happen again. So if it means me getting arrested, so be it. This is why I have high-priced lawyers at my beckon call." He smiled the biggest shit-eating grin he could manage.

She bumped him with her hips as she walked toward their bedroom to finishing getting ready. Kate Beckett was happy, despite everything that was going on, she was actually happy.

When she arrived at the precinct that morning Ryan questioned her about what was going on. She knew what he was talking about, but she pretended she didn't, so she asked "What are you talking about?"

Ryan looked uneasy and a little upset "Captain got a call this morning and" he did not get to finish as Captain Wall appeared suddenly next to them.

"Where is he?" Wall sounded pissed but concerned at the same time.

Kate was still confused "If you mean Castle, he is with his lawyer. He will be in later today. Why? What is going on?"

"Kate I'm going to put you in charge of this. There is an arrest warrant for one Richard Edgar Castle. The charges are assault and battery and attempted murder."

"Attempted murder?" Kate yelled out unable to control her reaction. "That son of a bitch!" she said lowering her voice but anger was attempting to boil out of her.

"Detective Beckett would you care to do some explaining, please? You don't seem shocked by the warrant or the assault charge and who's the SOB?"

Kate blew out the breath she had been holding before filling in the two worried men in front of her. "Castle got a call this morning warning him about the warrant. That is why he's at his lawyers, but he was told that the charges would be dropped if I was willing to meet with Josh alone."

Both Ryan and Wall knew what Castle's reaction to that idea would have been so they did not even ask about that possibility.

"So what are we going to do?" Ryan asked. He was never good at hiding his feelings so the apprehension was very apparent.

Kate knew how the police were like a large extended family and knew that Castle had friends throughout the whole city. "Nothing, right now," she answered. "His lawyers will handle it for now. I think when the DA hears why it happened, that he was protecting his partner; I think it will all be dropped. If not, I don't believe a judge or jury will convict him of anything. He will be charming Rick Castle and he will walk free."

Captain Wall and Ryan smiled because they knew she was right. Castle would never even face a trial once the DA heard that their complainant hit his wife, a cop. With his mood lifted, Ryan could not help but needle Beckett a little. "So partner, huh? Is that all it is?"

"Shut up Ryan" was her come back. Not the best but how was she to refute it. He was right. They passed partner a long time ago. She thought she had dodged the real question.

Everyone knew they were living together but there had not been an actual confirmation that they were dating. A large pool of money hung on that very detail. Everyone in the 12th had bet on when they would announce it but no money would be awarded until the declaration was officially declared.

Kate thought she was in the clear until the Captain spoke up "Detective Beckett, I believe Detective Ryan asked you a question. I would personally love to hear the answer."

She stood there in disbelief before she accused, "You too?" The Captain nodded his head to confirm her guesstimate that he was in on the bet.

"Okay fine. Richard Castle and I are dating and living together" she said loudly so everyone in the bullpen could hear her, half spinning to make sure they did. Turning back to the two men only to find three instead, Esposito had joined the group; she asked "Are you happy now? So who won the bet, huh?"

Esposito fumbled with his note pad before finding the list of dates guessed by the betters. "Alright the winner of almost $5,000 is Detective Kevin Ryan."

"Really?" Ryan questioned before smiling in glee. "I am so taking Jenny on a vacation, after this case is over. Hawaii here we come. I've got to call her" he said grabbing his phone out of his pocket, but he stopped dead in his tracking looking at the man standing on the other side of half wall in the bullpen. Ryan rapidly went from overjoyed to exceedingly pissed. "You have a lot of guts stepping foot in there." The volume of the statement made everyone look up at him and then to where he was glaring.

Ryan, Esposito, and the Captain all moved forward simultaneously but Kate yelled, "Everyone hold it." When they stopped, she moved forward herself. "Josh, what the hell are you doing here?" She moved to cut off Esposito who was still moving, slowly, towards Josh. Wall put his hand on Esposito's shoulder to make sure he did not move any further.

Josh looked worse for wear. He still had stitches and his hand was in a cast. He put his hands out to her, but she stepped back in repulsion. She could not believe she married this man! She never had any love for him and her lack of love was now replaced by hatred. Kate wanted nothing to do with him.

When he moved to step closer to her, the whole bullpen moved towards him so he put his hands up to show he meant no harm. "I just came to talk, Kate." He did not dare move as everyone in the precinct knew who he was and what he did. They just stared at him, despising him.

"Josh you should go, now." Kate was afraid, not for Josh, but what might happen to him if he stayed than longer. He made no sign of leaving though. "Fine what do you want?" she demanded. She wanted him out as fast as possible and if talking to him was the way then so be it.

"I was hoping for somewhat private" he said finally putting his hands down. "Maybe we can go for coffee or something?"

Kate was a little amazed by the idea. "That's not going to happen, ever. If you want to talk and you want coffee, the break room is your best hope" she said as she pointed behind him. He turned to where she had indicated.

Josh was trying to hold onto his temper so he agreed and walked toward the room. "Not as private as I would have liked" he said. He was growing angrier at having to do what she wanted. It was not his choice and his shiny prize was not behaving.

Kate's idea behind the break room that it gave them some semblance of privacy but there were people within close distance. "It is the best you get and better than you deserve. So you have one minute. Go" she looked down at her watch actually timing him.

"All right, I want you to come home with me, now!" Josh basically ordered, still repressing his anger. He was pissed that his prize left and now he was trying to reclaim it. "I miss you and I am sorry for what happened."

Kate could not help the laugh that erupted from her. After what seemed like a full minute of her laughing, she ended it with "You have got to be kidding right?" Seeing that he was serious she killed the last part of her laugh. "You see Josh I am _not_ sorry for what happened. I was going to tell you I wanted a divorce that night, anyway. You just made sure of that for me and I know I am making the right decision. Thank you for that. Also that night led me to someone else, someone better, someone who is there for me." Kate said biting her lip. Her mind wandered to Castle and the happiness he brought her.

Josh could not believe that he was being told off by his property. "What are you telling me Kate?" the heat in his voice and on his face was clear. He was inching closer to her.

She wanted to make it as clear as glass so there would not be any misunderstandings, misinterpretations, or confusion. "I'm in love with somebody. Found someone who completes me. I'm in love with somebody, oh yeah" she said when the look on his face tried to deny it. "And it's not you!" She wanted this to hurt as much her face did the night he hit her. "So Josh, consider this me telling you that I want a divorce."

He had enough and his face was red with fury. "No, Kate you are coming with me, this minute" he said as he gripped her arm roughly. Kate's only reaction was to smile at him. "What's so funny?" he demanded to know.

"You forgot where you were at, didn't you? Look around."

Josh did as she suggested and to his horror every cop in the room was coming closer at a high rate of speed, but it was Captain Wall who got there first. He grabbed Josh's shoulder with enough force to jar his broken arm and make him squawk in pain.

"I think it's time for you go boy" the Captain said as he basically lifted Josh to his toes by his shoulders.

"Let go of me or I swear to god I will…"

The Captain leaned so close to his ear that Kate could hardly hear him. "I don't think you want to finish that. You already put your hands on that girl and that girl is family. And now you are threatening me. You keep going this route and what Castle did to you will look like you just fell down after I am done with you. So let's go" with that the Captain jerked Josh towards the elevator.

As they got close they had to wait a second as it traveled up. The Captain used this time for a little advice time for Josh. "Do not ever get near her again. Do understand me?" Josh was in no position to argue the point, as much as he wanted to.

As the doors were about to open the Captain moved them to it and found a surprise inside in, a third man. All three of their reaction came simultaneously.

"Oh shit!" came from both Josh and the Captain, one out of fear and the other was out of alarm.

The third just got a sickening sweet smile on his face that Josh recognized as pain was coming. All the third man said was

"Hello, Josh."

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Again Please Review.


	10. The Good

Here everyone goes. enjoy.

Oh. 10 music geek point to anyone who spotted the Halestorm lyrics in the last chapter.

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Chapter 10 – The Good

Castle was about to attack Josh but Wall was quick enough to spin Josh around, putting himself between the two men. "Castle! I don't want blood on the floor and Josh was just about to leave. So you go over there" he said nodding toward Beckett's desk. As Castle did as he was instructed; the Captain turned his attention back to Josh, who was still standing on his toes due to Wall's intense grip on his shoulders. "Listen very carefully to me, Dr. Davidson. Do not come within 50 yards of Kate or Castle and do not ever come here again. You understand me?" The tone of his voice was both warning and intimidating. He pushed Josh into the elevator and hit the lobby button before stepping back and waiting for the doors to close.

However Josh's ego did not like to be talked to like a child or manhandled. "I will continue to do whatever I want to, Captain" he said trying to time it so he said it right before the doors closed.

Wall grabbed the door before it closed though. "Go ahead and try something like this again, but remember that next time I will not save you. I doubt Mr. Castle will be more the three feet away from Detective Beckett at any time in the near or distant future. Also, I think Castle very much enjoyed beating on you. It's kind of like therapy for him, I think" he smiled an insincere and very chilling smile.

Kate had followed the Captain out towards the elevator and heard what the Captain said to her future ex-husband and Kate wanted the last word. She walked up behind the Captain, placed a hand on Wall's massive shoulder to peer over it, and fired off one last slight at Josh. "Oh Captain, you don't have to worry about Castle. He will be much closer than that, especially at night." Kate smiled, looking Josh straight in the eye and seeing the anger there.

Wall's face was overtaken by a giant smile. He knew exactly what Kate was doing. After a second to enjoy the look of repulsion and anger on Josh's face, he removed his hand from the door allowing it to finally close.

The Captain and Kate walked back into the bullpen; him to his office and her back to her desk. She was pleased and a little confused to find Castle in an amused mood. "What's with you?" she asked standing in front of him.

"I heard you."

She instantly turned red and started biting her lower lip. He held out his hand to her, she gladly accepted it. "Oh!" escaped from her as he pulled her into his lap with a quick motion. Her face stopped next to his and she kissed him. She could not help it. They were enjoying their moment of peace until the sound of a throat being cleared interrupted them. They before looked up to see Detectives Ryan and Esposito standing there.

The redness returned to Kate's face. "Guys, what can we do for you?"

The boys just looked at each other. "It's kind of gross when Mom and Dad make out in the middle of the work place, so if you two don't mind?" Esposito teased them.

"What do you want Esposito?" Kate shot at him as she stood up from Castle's lap. He was still grinning like a fool.

It was Ryan who spoke this time as Beckett was still giving Esposito the evil eye. "We were wondering what the lawyer said?"

Castle was just sitting there looking at Kate with that glint in his eye, he hadn't heard a word that Ryan had said. It took a nudge from Kate to get his attention to the question at hand. She was as curious as the boys were. Castle turned in his chair to face them as they were standing behind him. After having Ryan repeat his question, Castle answered.

"My lawyer is moving to have all the charges dismissed by tomorrow morning. Apparently there is not much evidence, just Josh's word against mine, mainly." Castle relished being the center of their attention. "He believes that because the whole case is based on Josh's word and no witnesses willing to come forward, the DA doesn't seem eager to pursue the charges. So he thinks that there is a good chance the case will be settled sometime soon. So there is no real worry, okay? Everyone can relax." He was looking at Kate trying to reassure her most of all. He wanted to make sure she knew that he wasn't going to go anywhere.

Kate just bit her lip in response of the news. She was nervous for him because she knew how cruel Josh could be.

"That's good to hear, bro." Esposito said. "That's just one more thing to cross of the list of troubles these days." Both the boys did look relieved. In truth, Castle was guilty of assault after all and they were not only witnesses, they stood by and watched it happen, essentially condoning his actions. So they could have been in more trouble than him. Of course, he wasn't going to announce that conclusion.

Everyone was all smiles after hearing the first piece of good news they had in a while. The boys headed back to their desk and Castle turned back to Kate who still looked a little distressed. She had a question on her lips but was afraid to actually ask it.

Castle watched her for a few seconds; he adored the rare sight of an uncomfortable Beckett. But his writer's nature got ahold of him quickly and he had to know what she was fidgeting about. "Beckett, what is it?"

Kate was unsure about asking him about it. The question had been rolling around her mind for a while now but she did not think she should bring it up right now. They were in the middle of so much; the killings, protecting Alexis, and possible charges against Castle. He had a lot on his mind. So she quickly decided to wait and ask him later, maybe. "It's nothing. Never mind."

This just got his interest up even more. "Come on, you can talk to me" he said playfully trying to goad her into telling him. He was curious now.

"Castle, it will wait" her tone was slightly more serious but she had a smile on her face now. It let him know that they would discuss it but later.

Castle let it drop and as the day wore on, they worked the case looking for anything; a new lead or evidence that would point them in the right direction. They knew more from the latest victim, like the murder was more hastily done, but the killer still left behind no physical evidence on the body or in the room. They couldn't do anything with what little information they had.

It was late, around 10:30 or 11 o'clock at night, and Kate needed a caffeine fix. She went to the break room for coffee but the pot was empty and she never could work the damn espresso machine. The only solution; a Pepsi! So she headed back to her desk in search of change for the machine, but alas no such luck. Then she spotted Castle's coat hanging off the back of his chair.

She thought about it for a minute and decided that her need for caffeine over the ethics of searching his pockets was winning this battle. So she searched his pockets for change but all she found in one was sucker that tasted like soap and nothing in the other. She checked his inside pocket last, hoping that there would be something there, and was stopped dead in her tracks. Kate did not have to draw her hand out of the inside pocket because she knew exactly what she had in her hand. She had to make sure she was right though. Kate closed her eyes and pulled the small box from Castle's pocket.

She took a very deep breathe and opened her eyes, to reveal that she was right. It was a ring box, but there was something wrong with it. It was beat up, scratched, and looked like it had been in his pocket for a long time. She just gazed at it for a moment, lost. She regained herself and stuffed the box back into his pocket before anyone could see her.

Kate had barely gotten back into her chair when Castle walked up to her. "So I think we can't do anything more here tonight. Shall we head home?" He was being his normal charming self. If he did see her then he did not say anything. She breathed a short sigh of relief.

"No, I should keep working" she was protesting on reflex, even though the drowsiness was obvious on her face.

He knew she was dead tired but arguing with her would be useless, so he switched tactics. "Detective Beckett, I am ready to go home and as my assigned protective detail, I believe you must accompany me home. Or should I go check with Captain Wall? Just to make sure, what do you say?" He said pointing his thumb over his shoulder toward the Captain's office. He knew this would get to her. Castle was right, it had got to her. He had pulled rank.

"Really, you are going to pull that card?" she accused sitting back in her chair. He just nodded his head, smiling. She thought about it and recognized that he was making her going home for her own good.

As they headed back to the loft, they passed the car ride not saying a word. They both had things on their minds. Castle was dying to know what Kate was going to ask. Kate wanted the story behind the damaged ring box. But neither one would break the stalemate of silence.

They kept this up even after they arrived at the loft. By the time the couple had arrived at the loft, everyone else was asleep for the night. They carefully walked through to the bedroom, trying to be as quiet as possible. But it finally got to Castle, he had to know. He caught her by the hand, causing her spin around to face him. "Kate what were you going to ask earlier? It seemed to bother you a lot. So if it is something I can help with, please let me."

She was hoping that he had forgotten about that. The more she thought about asking him, the more she thought it would not be right.

Castle looked like a kid who's mom just told him no. "Come on, Kate. Tell me please." He was begging to know.

Inwardly smiling, Kate decided to use his interest against him to answer her own snooping. "Fine I will tell you but you have to answer a question in return. Is that agreeable?"

Castle was twice as curious now. It was twofold for him, a solution to his writer's inquisitiveness nature and mysterious question from the woman he loved. "Sure. That sounds fine, but ladies first."

"Fine" she said a little indignantly. She always hated being put on the spot and here she was center stage. "I was going to ask what the name of your divorce lawyer is. I need someone good and I know you've been through this a couple of times. I want it done quickly and quietly. Okay, you happy now?"

Castle response caught her completely off guard. He almost bent over laughing, having a hard time catching his breath. It pissed her off.

"What is so damn funny?" she demanded crossing her arms.

He saw that she was serious and that it took a bit to ask him that. "I am sorry, Kate" he said righting himself, sobering his mood to match hers. "I really am sorry, but why were you so nervous about asking me that? I have known that you wanted a divorce from Josh, it not a big deal. I will call my guy in the morning." Castle slid up next to Kate wrapping his arms around her.

Kate was feeling a little foolish about the whole thing, to the point of turning a little red for the third time that day. She returned the motion and wrapped her arms around him. "I guess I thought I should handle this on my own, but I don't know anyone else who's been through this. It also seems a little embarrassing to ask your boyfriend about divorce lawyers."

"Kate, you can ask me anything, about everything" he said smiling down into her eyes.

Kate saw an opening to satisfying her curiosity. "Anything, huh? Okay explain this." In one swift action, Kate had slipped her hand into his pocket, removed the box from it, and stepped away from him.

He just gawked at the box for a second. Castle was suddenly dumbfounded. "How did you know about that?" he asked when he found his voice, still a little shaken.

Kate recounted her need for caffeine at 12th and searching his pocket for change for the pop machine. Kate bit on her bottom lip trying to be cute, so that he would not get mad. "Will you tell me what this is?"

Castle had to know something first before answering her. "Did you look inside?" She shook her head no. He smiled, holding out his hand wanting the box back and once she dropped into his hand he started to explain.

"It's yours, Kate." He opened the box facing him so she could not see it. He had seen the ring in the box many times but this time it was coming out and staying out. It belonged on her finger. He smiled and looked at her, his face told her what was about to happen. A smiled broke across her face, tears welling up in her eyes.

Castle moved toward her, getting down on one knee, he turned the box towards her, revealing a beautiful but simple diamond ring. "This ring has belonged to you for a long time but I have to ask the question that goes with it."

He did not get the chance to ask as she got down matching his position on the floor.

"It would be my honor if you would marry me, Mr. Castle."

He just smiled at her. He loved her and she loved him. Her make-up was streaking down her face.

"Of course I will. Once you're divorced that is." he said smiling before kissing her.

Something was amiss, though, the box. It bothered her. "Castle, why is the box all beat up?"

He took a deep breath before going into the explanation. "This ring belonged to you long ago. I heard you tell Lanie that you remembered everything, in the hospital. That you loved me, but you had to solve your mother's case first. I went out and bought this that very day. I was going to ask the day we solved the case. No matter, what or where we were. Before our first date in the middle of the 12th, if I had to. The guys and I solved the case but things changed and I have been carrying it around with me ever since. Every day. It's never left my pocket. So over time the box got beat up."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. Her tears of joy were now ones of sadness. She had really hurt him. He was willing to ask her to be his forever before everything else that normally comes in a relationship. "I am sorry, Castle." Kate's crying flowed freer now. All the hurt she had caused him over the last year welled up and she could not help those tears falling. Honestly, she did not want to.

"Don't cry, Kate. It's okay, we are together now. So forget the past alright." He tucked a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. His smile was a wary one, but a happy one. He wiped her tears away with his thumb. He keep repeating "It's okay" again and again.

Once she had regained herself and was back on her feet she said, "Thank you, Castle."

"Would you like to try the ring on?" he asked since he was still holding the box in his hand.

"Yes, please" she said like an excited teenager, holding her hand out for him to slip the ring on her finger. Kate wrinkled her nose a little as the ring fit her perfectly. Castle really did know her too well. She looked at it, thinking that the ring that was there a short time ago was a prison and how this one felt nothing but freeing.

Castle hugged her close. She kissed him and he returned in kind, but their special moment was ruined by an unwanted intrusion again. His stomach growled like a prehistoric creature from the deep. They broke apart laughing.

"Go find us food" she said to him.

"Sure thing" he said and he departed for the kitchen.

Kate stood there a moment staring at her ring. Then she noticed that the ring had something inscribed on the outside. As she looked closer it was the same word over and over again. She took it off to look closer and saw that it was repeated on the inside to. She put it back on, with pride. It was their word. Their version of I love you.

"Always"

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Please Read, Enjoy, and Review.


	11. The Bad

A killer revealed.

I don't own Castle.

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Chapter 11- The Bad

She was curled around him as they slept peacefully. She slept as close as possible to him. Never being more than a few inches away from him during the night. When she awoke that morning, still in his arms, she could not believe it was real. She thought it had been a teasing dream, not just the box or the ring inside, but the whole affair. She had not seen him in a year and now, 10 days later, they were living together and were engaged. Despite the cause of their reunion, she had intended to mend her relationship with him but not like this, not over a case.

She wrapped around him with a tighter grip. For the first time in a very long time she felt safe and happy.

The sun was starting to break into the room, causing him to stir. When he was awake enough to open an eye, he noticed her looking at him. "Hi beautiful." He managed to groan through his sleepiness. His voice was low, not quite back to him after sleep. Tears were forming in her eyes and it shook him "What's wrong?" he asked, the sight brought him into full consciousness. Reaching for her cheek he wiped the tears away with his thumb while cupping her face. This was becoming a ritual between the two of them.

"I am sorry, Castle, I am so sorry." She was apologizing but he did not know what for.

It made him anxious. "Stop." He was looking deep into her eyes trying to find an answer, but what he found there was her soul. She was apologizing she was blaming herself for it all, for everything that happened. He wrapped his arms around her securely "Stop, it's not your fault."

A small, weak smile appeared on her face. He was reading her again. She tried to play things close to the vest but he could just know all of her.

She was content, happy and comfortable in his arms, until he jerked her on top of him. "What are you doing?" she said with a squeal from the sudden movement. He just smiled as he pushed her hair away from her face before leaning up to kiss her.

Kate was just getting into the kiss when both Kate and Castle were jolted from the screaming coming from Alexis room. They flew from the bed running toward her room. Castle only clad in the bottom half of the pajamas set, Kate a spilt second behind him in the top half. He was in the lead because she grabbed her gun on the way.

It did not take long to cross the living and run up the stairs two at time. Kate a step behind Castle, but they were too late as his mother was already holding the girl.

"What's going on?" he basically yelled as he charged into the room looking for danger.

Alexis lifted her head from her grandmother's shoulder she had tears running down her face. She did not say a word, just pointed to her window. He was horrified at the vision on the roof across from them. It was another victim.

Everyone was there in just a few minutes. So swiftly in fact that Beckett had no time to get dressed before the Captain and the boys were knocking on the door. So when she opened the door for them, they all just gawked at her for a moment. She was standing there still in the pajama top that barely covered her.

Esposito spoke up first "I knew there was a crime here; I didn't know it was indecent exposure" he said with a snarky look on his face that was swiftly erased by the Captain with a good smack to the back of his head.

"Shut up Esposito."

"Yes sir" he said hastily, rubbing the back of his head.

Kate stepped aside to let them in. "Thank you, Captain" she said as he passed. "I am going to get dressed and go talk to Lanie. They are over there." She was pointing to the kitchen table. She dressed in a few minutes and went across the street to the roof of the building where the victim was.

Kate was all business when she arrived "What do you have?" she asked. Her mood was definitely sour and her tone was cold. Lanie put her best friend's attitude in check right away.

"Hi to you too, missy" she said matching Kate's not very pleasant tone.

Hearing Lanie deflated Kate instantly. "Sorry. Not the best morning." She trying to make an excuse but know it was pointless.

Lanie half smiled. "It's okay but I do have something for you… something different." Kate was listening carefully hoping for a new clue or lead. Lanie continued on, "It's the same person, but for some reason he used his left hand instead of his right. Everything is missing from inside the body, and the chess piece is there, but the cuts are messy, and there is trace material all over the body." She handed Kate a small evidence bag containing a small amount of white material.

The Detective took the bag to examine it. "What is it exactly?"

Lanie's attention was no longer on the body or the case due to the fact that she was staring at Kate's hand and the new accessory that adorned it.

"Lanie? Lanie are you still with us?" Kate asked when the coroner did not respond.

"Yeah, girl I am" she replied back. Lanie was in the process of getting her detective face on. Kate was about to be grilled since now Lanie had her own mystery to solve… the case of the diamond ring.

Kate caught the look at her friend's face and knew she was busted. She had forgotten to take the ring off before coming over.

She decided that deflecting Lanie back to the case was the only option. There was a dead body after all. "Lanie, I will explain but can we talk about the dead girl across from my home, first."

"Fine" Lanie said in a huff. She was not really thrilled because she wanted to know now but decency was paramount. "The white stuff is fiber glass. No idea what kind yet. I will have to take it back to the lab and determine more. It should only be a few hours since this is a top priority case."

"Okay, thanks." Kate turned to walk away but Lanie was following her, a step or two behind. Kate did not notice until she stopped and Lanie bumped into her. "What do you want?"

Lanie's nosiness was getting the best of her. Placing her hands on her hips, she had to know "Case talk is done and now it's your turn. So start talking."

Kate told her everything, from Josh hitting her, to Castle working Josh over, Castle asking her to move in, to finding the box he'd been carrying around for a year, the ring inside, and then the question.

Across the street, Esposito was looking out the window at the crime scene below and had to wonder why his wife was hugging Kate and jumping up and down simultaneously. He turned to the rest of the guys, ready to point out the window, but he decided not to say anything to spare himself from being accused of spying on his wife.

A few hours or so later everyone had gathered back at the 12th to follow up on the newest clues. There was not much to do until to lab reports came back and Lanie called. So when she did call everyone waited impatiently for the news she was delivering.

"Thanks, Lanie. Call as soon as the DNA results come back." When Kate hang up they were all staring at her.

"So what did she say?" Castle asked barely able to hold still. He needed something, anything to work with.

Kate took his hand trying to calm him a bit. "She said the white stuff was fiber glass from a cast. So the killer has a broken hand or arm. That plus the cuts being done left handed and the fact that they were muddled let's us assume that it's his right hand that's broken. She also found DNA on the cast fibers and she is running it now."

New leads did still Castle for a moment until Ryan spoke up.

He was voicing his concerns. "We didn't have much with that hair that we found on the first victim. I mean they ran it and came up empty before. What's to say that it doesn't come up a dead end this time?" Ryan said looking very nervous, clutching a file folder to his chest.

Esposito just regarded him for a second. "Nice, bro, just raining on everyone's parade, man. I can't believe you sometimes" Esposito said shaking his head.

"What?" Ryan asked confused.

Kate interrupted. "We know this guy had something happen to his hand and that he got treatment for it. That's something that we didn't know before."

"So let's get the records from the hospitals. We will be looking for males that had their right hand broken and needed a cast in the past two weeks" Castle said following her train of thought.

"Castle that would take a whole lot of time to accomplish, but it's the best idea we've got. So let's get to work" Kate said with a smile at Castle.

It took a little while to get all the hospitals to turn over the records, but all of them did finally. So the rest of the day was going to be spent combing over each person on the list and it was going to take some time. They decided calling each person and checking on them would be the best way to get through the mountain of information that was sent to them.

"1,318 people have either a broken their arm or hand in the last two weeks and we have to run down each and every one of them. This is going to be fun" Esposito simpered rolling his eyes. "Hey Castle, next time think of something less involved. Okay bro?"

Each of them took a part of the list and started making the necessary calls. It was brain numbing after the first few hours. The boredom was broken up by Ryan letting out a small laugh that got everyone's attention.

"What?" Esposito asked still holding the phone to his ear.

Ryan looked up from his list. "Hey Beckett, you want to make this call?" he said ignoring his partner's question.

Her interest was piqued. "Why?" she asked rising an eyebrow.

Ryan smiled a little. "Because it's Dr. Josh Davidson."

"Yeah right, Josh is the killer" Kate said sarcastically. She knew that he was an asshole but a killer, no way.

Castle piped up with, "I wish, and then I could kick his ass again."

Kate shot Castle a dirty look but before she could say anything, her phone rang. So she just glared at him and answered the phone. It was not that she was worried for Josh; it's that she did not want Castle getting into more trouble.

"Beckett" she said giving her normal answer. It was Lanie with the results.

The boys and Castle were still making jokes about Josh when Castle looked at Beckett; her face was pure snow white. His jovial mood came to abrupt end. "What's wrong?" he demanded straightening up in his chair. The boys walked over to her at the sudden change in attitude.

Kate refocused as she hung up the phone. "That was Lanie with the DNA results. It came back with a hit. It's as close to 100% as they can get. It is Josh."

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Not a big surprise to the few of you still reading this. Please review.


	12. Almost

Time for round 2. I hope you.

As always I don't own Castle.

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Chapter 12- Almost

"It is Josh."

As the words slipped from her, she could not, did not want to believe it. She was married to this man for a little bit more than a year and she had not seen it. Maybe she did not want to see it, Kate thought to herself. This was her fault, she should have known.

The boys were doing their best impressions of statues. Castle on the other hand was starting to boil like an over-heated kettle. Josh was trying to hurt him by targeting the absolute most important thing in his world, his daughter.

Kate could see Castle's physical appearance changing before her; he actually turned red with the anger boiling in his veins. His muscles were tensing up, and the normal glint in his eye was replaced by a need for blood. Kate was scared for Castle and a little because of him.

She knew that she and the boys had to catch Josh first or Castle would kill him with his bare hands. Still none of them had moved. They were all motionless. The noise of the 12th faded away as they each got lost in their own heads, each attempting to process the information.

It was the captain, leaving his office on a coffee run that noticed them standing and sitting there, motionless in a busy police precinct. "Is everything alright?" he asked approaching the group. As a cop he was curious, as a friend he was anxious. These people did not just stand around doing nothing.

Ryan answered sounding distracted. "The lab found the identity of the killer. It's Josh Davidson, Captain. The lab got a DNA match. Both the hair from the first scene and the cast fibers from this one, match Josh's DNA." He did not even look at the Captain. It was like all of them were nervous about how Wall would react, like they should have known it was Josh.

If Wall was mad or disappointed in them he did not say, because it seemed the cop part of him had won. He needed the details of the case as quick as possible. "I thought the lab didn't get a match from the first run?"

"In a strange turn of events it's because of Castle," Kate mused. "Josh insisted on pressing charges against Castle for assault. The officers at the hospital took his clothes as evidence since they were covered in blood. The lab tested his clothes and the blood went into the system. When Lanie ran the latest test, it popped against the sample of DNA from victim this morning," Kate finished her explanation.

The knowledge was quickly sinking in that her husband was a serial killer and she blamed herself for not knowing. What kind of cop would not notice their husband was a serial killer? It started to weight on her; these girls were dead because of her, Alexis was living in terror because of her, and Castle was fearful of losing his daughter…because of her.

"Okay you two" the Captain said pointing at Ryan and Esposito. "Alert the patrols and get his picture out to the media. Get people at his place, the hospital and anywhere else he could be." The Captain turned to Castle and Kate. "You two go home." They were both about to object but he cut them off. "Castle, you need to watch over Alexis. And Kate, you are still on protective detail. Hence you both go. Take the time and come back tomorrow with a clear head."

Kate and Castle headed for the elevator together, not saying a word to each other. Kate had guilt eating at her and Castle could still feel the rage trying to boil up and take over.

Castle leaned against the back wall of the elevator and Kate stood facing the doors trying not to look at him. All she wanted to do was to wrap up in his arms and be comforted but she had too much self-hatred building inside. Thinking that there was only one thing to do, she turned to him as soon as she was sure the doors had closed and they were alone.

"Castle, I am so sorry. After this is over I will be gone from your life…for good this time." Kate was sure that he would blame her for this. "If it wasn't for me Alexis wouldn't be in danger right now. Your life wouldn't be turned upside down." Kate turned back around trying the hide her crying. She hated to say it, but she believed it was for the best. She would let go of her tenuous hold on Castle.

Kate was surprised when Castle spun her around by her shoulders, pushed her against the wall of the elevator, and hoisted her up by her legs until she wrapped her legs around him, buried his hands in her hair and then kissed her deeply. He was done talking, no more words. There was someone out there threatening the life of his daughter and he would not allow his man to take anything else from him or his family. He had to prove how he felt about her.

Their kiss was unrelenting, even when the elevator stopped at the lobby they still didn't stop. When the doors opened, the people standing there were treated to the show. The doors closed and reopened before the two broke apart.

It was then that Castle finally said something on the subject and that was the end of it. "You are not going anywhere and this conversation is now closed. Okay?"

Kate nodded her response. He placed her back on her feet. He had let her know exactly where she belonged, right next to him. She was smiling. He took her hand a placed a soft little kiss on the back of it, before they walked out of the elevator hand and hand.

Everyone just gawked at them on their way through the lobby. They had all heard the rumor of these two getting together, but now they had eyewitness proof.

Ryan and Esposito worked feverishly to get the word out to anyone and everyone they could think of. Josh became the highest priority case and suspect to the NYPD. After getting the bulletin out, Ryan and Esposito were to head over to Beckett's former place of residence and look for information regarding Josh's whereabouts.

As the boys left the 12th precinct, Ryan asked his partner "Do you think he will really show up at the apartment?"

"I don't know, bro. We just need to find him fast. For everybody's sake" he said sliding into the passenger seat.

Alexis was enjoying a quiet afternoon in the loft because her grams had to go to her studio. So for the first time since the whole ordeal started, she was alone. She was sitting on the couch, reading a book, when there was a knock at the door.

Alexis suspected that something was wrong. With all the police presence, a knock on the door was rare these days. When she walked to the door and peeked through the peephole, she could only see the man's hat. She had to ask "Who is it?"

"It's Officer Webber. Just checking on how you are doing." The voice was composed but warm.

Alexis cracked the door open an inch. "I'm fine…" she did not get to finish her sentence as the officer burst through the door sending her jerking backwards to get out of the way.

"Hello, Alexis" his voice had lowered and sounded colder, meaner as he entered the loft.

Alexis recognized him as the man who attacked her father at the hospital when Kate was shot. She didn't stop to think, she just ran toward the stairs, but he cut her off. "It's been you all along? Why?" she asked hoping to distract him.

Josh's smile was wicked. "Your father tried to take something from me the day my Kate was shot. He didn't know it but he was successful. So I decided to take something from him, you."

He was blocking the path to her room. Alexis knew that her father's room had a lock on the door. She turned to run toward it and Josh chased after her.

Alexis threw the vase that was on the table behind the couch, hitting Josh in the face. The impact of the vase stunning him, buying her precious seconds to get away and she took the opportunity to get to Castle's room and lock the door.

Kate was supremely happy on the cab ride over to the loft. She tried to leave him, thinking it would be better but he put an end to that in a heartbeat. She was glad that he hadn't let her walk away. They sat enjoying each other's company. The ride ended far too soon for both of them, he paid the cab driver and was getting out when his phone ring.

Castle smiled when the caller ID showed it was Alexis calling "Hello pumpkin…"

"Dad, he's here! Kate's ex is in the loft!," she was crying into the phone, trying to hold it together.

"Hold on, honey! I am outside the loft right now. I will be there in a second. Hang on!" he screamed as he ran for the front door. "Josh is in the loft!" he yelled over his shoulder to Kate as she got out of the cab.

When he entered the lobby, he debated taking the stairs but he knew that it would be slower than taking the elevator. But fate made the decision for as the elevator doors opened at that moment.

He ran inside and hit the button for his floor. This began the longest 20 seconds of his entire life. He knew exactly what he was going to do and it would be messy. Castle took off his coat throwing it on the floor and he began rolling up his sleeves.

Kate could barely hear Castle since he was facing away from her but she instinctively knew what he had said. She signaled the patrol officers to follow her, as she hit the speed dial for Esposito.

"Esposito" he answered.

"Where are you?" she asked breathing hard as she ran.

Esposito knew something was wrong and instantly went on alert. "We're on the way to your old place" he answered quickly.

"Get to the loft. Josh is here and Castle's got a head start on me" she panted.

"Damn it we're on the way!" Esposito said and hung up the phone. "We need to get to Castle's loft. Castle's going to kill Josh." At his words, Ryan pressed the gas pedal down and Esposito flipped the lights and sirens on from the controls on the dash.

When the doors opened he darted down the hall in the direction of his home. The front door was open and Castle crept in not wanting to alert Josh to his presence. He found Josh beating on his bedroom door. "Josh we really have to stop meeting like this."

Josh's spine straightened instantly. Castle's words were cold and promised something more than pain. This time it was Death that came with Castle and Josh knew that the man and phantom were both there for him.

Kate made her way into the lobby with the other officers not far behind her, she headed for the elevator first but Castle must have gotten in it. She changed her route to head for the stairs. "Please don't let him do this. Please don't let him do this," she was almost chanting, a prayer to any god that was willing to listen.

She was trying to take the stairs two at a time, almost leaving the other cops behind. She hoped that she would make it there before it got too bad.

Back in the loft, the pounding on the bedroom door stopped. Alexis could hear people talking but could not make out what they were saying. She was relieved when she made out that one of the voices was her dad's. "Dad!" she yelled relief coloring her voice.

Castle's anger subsided for a second when he heard her voice from the other side of the door. "Baby, you okay? Did he hurt you in anyway?" he called.

"No, I am just scared" she replied.

He let out the breath he had been holding since he heard her voice on the phone downstairs. "Pumpkin, listen to me. Go into the bathroom and lock the door. Do not come out no matter what you hear. Okay?"

"But Dad…" she tried to say but Castle cut her off.

"Alexis just do it." His tone was stern and she was taken aback because he was never like this with her. She could tell by the tone of his voice that she did not want to witness what happened next.

Ryan and Esposito made their way through the city as fast as possible but traffic was working against them. They were silent while navigating the busy streets. They were not talking but both were thinking the same thing. "Please don't let this happen!"

It was time, Castle thought. Josh needed to hurt, to suffer and Castle wanted, needed to make it happen. Revenge for every person Josh had hurt; Alexis, the victims, and Kate.

Castle tackled Josh, shoving him into the book case next to the desk. The bookcase toppled over, causing books to crash down on them. Castle was on his feet first. He grabbed Josh by the shirt and, like the first fight, sent him flying through the air smashing into the other book case near the door of the office. Again the books dropped onto Josh.

Castle closed the distance quickly and dragged Josh back to his feet, but Josh had some fight left in him. He took a swing at Castle with his right hand, which was still in a cast, and connected with side of Castle's face hard. Castle was knocked to one knee, his head bleeding from the impact.

Josh ran for the door trying to escape. He never meant to see anybody but Alexis. Castle recovered quickly though and landed a punch directly to the back of Josh's head. Josh dropped to the ground hard, right on his face.

"Got some spirit in you, Josh but I'm going to make you as helpless as your victims. So I guess beating you will have to do." The grin carved on his face was disgusting. He walked over to Josh's feet. Castle stomped down just above his foot causing his ankle to break. Josh screamed, the pain was agonizing and made the edges of his vision go blurry. Castle had snapped his ankle in two. His foot was hanging nastily off the end of his leg.

Castle rolled Josh over to face him "Now you cannot get away." He leaned in close to Josh's ear. "I am here for her" he whispered into his ear. It was the same thing he said to Cole before he shot him.

Castle was deliberate with his blows, each one landing hard, smashing down on his face. Josh tried to protect himself, but it was useless. Blow after blow showered down on him.

Castle kept up his deliberate assault on Josh until he heard a small voice behind him. "Dad, stop" He turned to see Alexis standing there. She looked frightened. It was not because of Josh anymore, it was because of him. All his rage drained away from him and his shoulders slumped.

"Baby, I'm so sorry." He went to hug her but his hands were covered in blood. Alexis' smile was a little shaky but it was there. "Let me cleanup" he told her.

Kate arrived at the loft as fast as possible, but she was too late. Josh was on the floor not moving, and she could not find Castle within her visual range.

"Castle!" she shouted. She was about to search upstairs when both Richard and Alexis came from the office area. Castle was drying his hands off. "What happened?"

It was Alexis who answered. "I was hiding in the bathroom when I heard Josh scream. I came out to find Dad pounding his face into the floor boards." Alexis was looking at her father. Kate was shocked to see that Alexis had nothing but love in her eyes; not fear, not anything but love for her father.

Kate asked the most obvious question first. "How did you get him to stop?"

Alexis reply was simple. "I just asked."

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	13. The End

There is the final chapter. It just a little bit of fluff and it wraps up some loose ends.

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Chapter 13 – The End

It was a few days before they were able to piece everything back together and get the loft cleaned up. Castle had to bring in a professional cleaning crew to clean all of the blood off the floor. Josh had left a relatively large puddle.

It was once everything was back to normal that Alexis told her father that she wanted to move back to the dorms and have a normal college experience. She was ready to move back, but to a different room obviously.

Castle on the other hand had different ideas. If he had his way she would never leave. He finally agreed to let her go but only after she listened to a plethora of grumbling from her father.

It was Kate who finally convinced him that Alexis would be safe. "Castle, you don't have to worry about Alexis. Josh is in custody and he'll be that way for a long time. He's handcuffed to a hospital bed. A bed that you put him in" Kate said sitting on his lap, holding his face up by his chin. He had been sitting in his office pouting the whole time Alexis was packing her stuff up. "Besides Castle, once Alexis moves out, it's going just to be us. You know just you and me. Alone" she said teasing his ear with her lips. This lightened Castle's mood considerably but he was still concerned about Alexis.

He grinned wickedly at the woman sitting in his lap. Jokingly he yelled from his office, "Alexis, go pack your bags!"

Alexis appear at the office door. She had heard her father yell, but she hadn't caught what he said. She stopped dead in her tracks though when she caught sight of Kate sitting on her father's lap with her face very close to his. "Sorry" she said blushing, as she turned her face away from them.

Kate was just as red as the little Castle. "It okay, Alexis" she said trying to stand up but big Castle was not letting go. Kate turned to him with a defiant look on her face. As he held her against his lap, she finally understood the reason he was not letting her go. Her removal from him would cause more embarrassment for all of them than if she was to stay. So she wiggled a little bit but stayed where she was.

"We will move you back to the dorms tomorrow morning" he told Alexis, trying to ignore the uncomfortable nature of the situation. "We'll drop you off before we go in to the 12th tomorrow. So be packed and ready bright and early in the morning."

Alexis squeaked an answer and took off to her room to continue the process with more vigor. She did not want to be around to witness any more of their shenanigans, either.

Once Alexis was gone, Kate kissed Castle trying to reassure him. She knew he was still struggling with the idea of letting his little girl go away where he couldn't be there to protect her. "She's going to be fine. She's a tough girl. She takes after her father, you know" she said after breaking their kiss.

Castle smiled slightly. "I know, she tougher than me" he knew his daughter would be safe. He just was going to miss her.

To distract Castle, Kate leaned in and bit him on the neck, just hard enough to get his attention. It was her that got the biggest surprise, though, as he scooped her up in his arms and headed for the bedroom.

The next morning everyone was up early to help Alexis move. Castle even carried the boxes, not happily, but he did so. Carrying down the sixth box of stuff, Castle had ask, "When did you get so much stuff?"

"You think this is a lot, wait until we get my stuff from storage" Kate said as she and Alexis pretended to be packing so they would not have to carry the boxes down the stairs. "And most of those are books." Both the girls just laughed as Castle griped under his breath as he set the latest box down. Three trips up and down the stairs, three more boxes and they were headed off to the dorms.

It did not take long for them to get Alexis unloaded before she sent them packing. "I have class in 10 minutes, so I will unpack when I get back from class" Alexis said hugging both of them as she was shooing them out the door.

Castle was pouting on the way back to the car. "Castle, she's going to be okay." Kate smiled at him because she found him adorable when he was sulking. She stopped in front in him and kissed him, biting his lower lip in the progress. She knew it was something that he liked, even if he'd never admit it. "Come on, grumpy. We need to get to the 12th."

His temperament started to lift on the ride over. He was even smiling a little. "What are you grinning at?" Kate asked curious about his sudden change in mood.

"I was thinking it's been a big couple of weeks. You know?"

Kate nodded her in agreement. "I know exactly what you mean." They enjoyed the rest of the drive in a soundless state of happiness. Enjoying each other's company but not having to fill the silence.

Once they arrived at the 12th they spent the day trying build a solid case against Josh for the rest of the murders. It did not take much to piece together the events once they knew Josh was the killer. Esposito and the Captain went to talk to Josh at the hospital, while everyone else worked on piecing together the other clues.

Castle and Kate were softly talking to themselves at her desk when Ryan came up to them. He had been working on Josh's alibi for the other look-alike murders. He was supposed to be out of the country working for 'Doctors without Borders.' "I just spoke to the membership roster personnel and Josh hasn't been on a mission with them in over a year. He would just tell everyone that so he could commit the murders" Ryan had a triumphant sound to his voice.

"Why does everyone look so happy?" came from the returning Esposito. He was walking with a swagger.

Ryan filled him and the Captain in on the new details, before Kate asked "Did you get anything out of him?"

Captain Wall was trying to hide behind the boys. He was failing miserably as he was a foot and half taller than either one of them. He was sort of chuckling. "No, his lawyer shut us down" he said through his attempts to choke back his laugher.

"What kind of shape is he in?" Ryan inquired not because he was concerned for Josh's wellbeing but he, Esposito and few others had money riding on how bad he was injured. It was not normally their style to bet on something like that, but hell, this guy was a serial killer who targeted their friend's daughter and he hit a cop, who also happened to be his wife. So the bet was on.

"Why are you so happy?" she directed the question to the Captain.

"Because I won the bet." Neither Kate nor Castle knew anything about the bet so they look confused at his admission.

"Damn" came softly from Ryan.

Kate was instantly hot and suspicious. "What bet?" she demanded.

Ryan froze when he saw Kate's face fuming. So Esposito jumped in to explain. "We kind of had a bet about how much Castle here messed Josh up and the Cap won."

Castle was also unhappy with them at this point. "How come I was not in on this?"

The boys answered together, "You would have an unfair advantage. You did the damage."

"So what is the damage, anyway?"

Esposito smiled a large smile. "Well, his right ankle and hand broken, the left side of his face was, I believe the other doctor said 'smashed.' Yeah that was it. You really did a number on him this time."

The captain interrupted, "But that's not the best part. As we were leaving another lawyer came in. We thought it was part of his legal defense team. Nope, this lawyer served him with divorce papers. The look on his face was priceless."

Esposito reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "I took a picture. It was so funny." All the boys gathered around to take a good look. It took some goading but even Kate had to giggle at the photo.

It took a little bit of time but once everyone had got their separate ways, Castle and Kate were left alone at her desk.

Castle found the humor in Kate's timing. "Divorce huh? I thought you were the one and done type?"

"I am, but I married the wrong one. So now a divorce is necessary before I can marry the perfect one. The one I should have been with from the beginning." She said as she turned to the work on her desk.

Castle had a small amused smile on his face as he stared at Kate. She was trying to work but kept getting distracted by him, not that he was doing anything. She just could not help it. Everything that had torn them apart and the things that brought them back together were over and done with. So now it's just the two of them, nothing else between them. Together forever and …

Always.

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Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story. I will be back with another story soon, I hope. The new one will be in the arch of the announcement. So it will be less dark and more fluff.


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